Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool preview, English Premier League
Liverpool travel to White Hart Lane this Sunday to take on Tottenham Hotspur in what promises to be an exciting match. While the Spurs are targeting a home win after a terrible start to the new English Premier League campaign, Liverpool are looking to maintain
a decent start to the season which will keep them in the top four.
Tottenham Hotspur have only managed one win this season, while Liverpool have only lost one game. The London side scored two goals to defeat Wolverhampton Wanderers last week, while the Reds stumbled to an unexpected 1-0 loss to Stoke City.
Both sides are aware of the importance of early wins in the Premier League, with Tottenham Hotspur missing out on the UEFA Champions League spot and Liverpool missing out on Europe altogether. Last season Tottenham Hotspur emerged victorious in the same
fixture, but the Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish was confident his side would do better this time around.
Liverpool have been active in the last two transfer windows, bringing in the likes of Andy Carroll, Luis Suarez and Jordan Henderson. These players are thought to have strengthened the squad and Dalglish revealed he was confident they would do well over
the weekend against Tottenham Hotspur.
Dalglish said in an interview:
“They've trained well all week and I'm sure they will go into the game against Tottenham on Sunday in the right frame of mind and with the right attitude.”
Meanwhile, his counterpart, Harry Redknapp revealed he regretted not signing the Reds striker Luis Suarez, who has proved to be excellent this season. The Spurs manager admitted that the London side were interested in acquiring the Uruguayan striker but
felt the player was too similar to Rafael van der Vaart.
At the end Tottenham Hotspur did not present Liverpool with too much of a challenge for the player, and the Reds signed him for a fee of £30 million. Even though the English manager felt his fee was over the top, he admitted Suarez was well worth the money.
Redknapp admitted:
“We thought he played a bit like Van der Vaart as well.
We were looking for a target man but I have seen him play up on his own and he can do that. He can play anywhere. He can do anything. He is a top-class, fantastic player.”
Team news
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur have quite a few injury problems going into the match, especially in their defence. Redknapp will have to do with the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michael-Dawson-c25288, who are out with calf and Achilles injuries, respectively.
Their absence will pave way for Ledley King and Younes Kaboul in the centre of defence, which is not a very convincing replacement. Luka Modric and Gareth Bale are expected to start, with Rafael van der Vaart expected to make an appearance after recovering
from an injury.
Sandro, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Emmanuel-Adebayor-c12526 proving to be a success, Redknapp will most likely continue
with the duo against Liverpool.
Liverpool
While Andy Carroll might not start at White Hart Lane, Luis Suarez will most definitely be in the starting XI on Sunday. Dirk Kuyt is expected to play the role of a second striker to the Uruguayan striker, with the possibility of Carroll coming on for him
at some point in the game.
Even though http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Steven-Gerrard-c34196 has recovered from his groin infection and has returned to full training, it is hardly unlikely that he will feature against Tottenham Hotspur. Dalglish confirmed that Gerrard and Martin Kelly had returned to
training but admitted he would wait until he was entirely sure before bringing them on.
Dalglish said:
“Steven is progressing very well, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fabio-c13152 (Aurelio) is close to coming back to joining us also.
We will pick and choose when it is best suited for Steven, whichever game suits him best.”
Possible line-ups
Tottenham Hotspur
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jermain-Defoe-c18359, Emmanuel Adebayor.
Liverpool
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dirk-Kuyt-c11348, Luis Suarez.
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