Tottenham Hotspur are set to return to Premier League action after their COVID-19 shutdown to host high-flying Liverpool on Sunday.
Tottenham Hotspur have had four matches postponed in the last two weeks across the Premier League and the Europa Conference League. A recent COVID-19 outbreak at the club had affected several Spurs players and this will definitely affect them.
They are not back to full strength yet, but as things stand, Sunday’s clash against Liverpool is set to go ahead. Antonio Conte’s men resumed training with as many as 16 players on Wednesday. They are currently seventh in the Premier League table with 25 points from 14 games. Before their ongoing three-game winning streak, they lost five, and won just two of their previous eight outings.
Their last game came against Norwich City, whom they dispatched 3-0 at home on December 5. Spurs have scored just 16 goals so far this term, and only four teams have scored fewer. The above visual shows us the shot map for Spurs’ last match against Norwich City. The visual indicates Spurs were highly effective with their efforts on goal and had 43.75% of their shots on target.
Jurgen Klopp’s side overcame an early scare to beat Newcastle United 3-1 at Anfield on Thursday night, an eighth consecutive win across all competitions and a sixth in a row in the Premier League. Goals from Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah, and Trent Alexander-Arnold sealed another crucial three points, which saw Liverpool keep pace with Manchester City, whom they trail by just one point at the top of the Premier League table.
Mohamed Salah has been in a league of his own as the Egyptian has the most number of assists and goals in the league. He has a total of 23 goal contributions so far and has been highly involved in all of the matches Liverpool have been winning. He will be looking to maintain his goal-scoring feat at the top and be highly effective against the Spurs.
Liverpool, meanwhile, have their own set of absentees after recent COVID-19 tests. The Reds have won all three of their Premier League matches in the last two weeks. Players like Virgil van Dijk, Curtis Jones and Fabinho were missing as Jurgen Klopp’s men defeated Newcastle United 3-1 at Anfield in midweek.
Spurs will be well-rested here and they have only conceded one goal in four Premier League matches since Antonio Conte took charge as manager. Liverpool have been the best attacking side in the league and it will be an exciting contest between the two sides on Sunday.
Several Spurs players are unlikely to have gained proper match fitness after contracting the coronavirus and are also expected to be rusty. The likes of Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold have been in brilliant form for Liverpool. This should be three points in the bag for the Merseysiders.
Tottenham Hotspur predicted starting lineup:
Lloris; Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Tanganga, Ndombele, Hojbjerg, Reguilon; Lo Celso; Kane, Bergwijn.
Liverpool predicted starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Konate, Robertson; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Henderson, Thiago; Salah, Jota, Mane.
