LIVERPOOL VS TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
| Sunday, March 15th |
Premier League | Anfield
5:30PM BST/12:30AM EST
No likes a midweek trip to Turkey — even less so when you lose. But that’s what Liverpool will deal with on Sunday after a 1-0 defeat against Galatasaray. After a great victory in the league against West Ham, the Reds then lost to Wolves in the league, then beat them to advance to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup, only to then fall to Galatasaray after the aforementioned Turkish journey. It’s been a rollercoaster of a month for Liverpool fans,
and we can only hope we’re on another upward climb on Sunday.
Still, the Reds will be in a better position than their opponents at Anfield. Tottenham Hotspur simply can’t catch a break. They brought in Igor Tudor to right the ship, but in his first four matches at the helm, things have only seemed to get worse. They sit only a point above the relegation zone in matchweek 30, which is a harrowing place for a big team like them to be. Add to that their litany of absences and injuries, and they’re definitely the underdogs going into this match.
Whatever happens, Liverpool won’t be lifting the Premier League trophy after the final whistle blows the way they did last season for this match. However, if all the stars align, they could jump as high as third on the table. This is a highly unlikely scenario, but it goes to show how close things are in the race for the top four. Though they currently sit in sixth place, sneaking into those automatic Champions League spots is still very much a possibility.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-2-3-1)
Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Ekitike
Arne Slot is hopeful that Alisson Becker will be back for this game, but he might still be a spectator for this one. Federico Chiesa should be available after a brief illness kept him out. Long term absentees like Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, and Wataru Endo remain out of commission. And with the short turnaround, some regular league starters like Florian Wirtz may find themselves given a break.
It’s a different story for the visitors, who will have a hard time coming up with any sort of coherent XI. Micky van de Ven will be unavailable due to a red card. Cristian Romero and Joao Palhinha injured each other on Tuesday via a clash of heads and will both be out. Yves Bissouma, Destiny Udogie, and Conor Gallagher are all likely out. And then there’s their impressive list of long-term absentees. These include Lucas Bergvall, Ben Davies, Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, and Wilson Odobert.
The Managers Have Their Say
Arne Slot: “I think if Tottenham would be No.1 in the league at the moment, every fan would expect us at home to win. And that is if we play against Man City, that’s when we play against Arsenal, that’s every game this club plays at home: we’re expected to win. That has nothing to do with the form of the other team or where they are in the league or the quality they have. We can win our 1,500th [league] game at home, so expectations come from history and history has shown that this club has been able to win a lot of games, let alone home games.”
Igor Tudor: “No, no, no, they are out. Micky is also out, Bissouma is out, for the muscles. Conor has some fever but probably will be in. So, we have again a lot of problems to make first 11. This is how it is in this club. this happen all the time. We start to build something, then happens something, or a red card, or last game, or three or four injuries.”
The Officials
Referee: Chris Kavanagh. Assistants: Dan Cook, James Mainwaring. Fourth official: Tom Kirk. VAR: John Brooks. Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan.
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