Tottenham have a good omen ahead of the visit of Liverpool to Wembley Stadium as Michael Oliver has been confirmed as the match official.
Liverpool had plenty of momentum before the international break, but they will face a difficult trip to Wembley Stadium and a meeting with an excellent Spurs side when domestic action returns.
Liverpool have enough depth to cope with their potential absence, however, as Fabinho has yet to start for the side and Daniel Sturridge’s pre-season form makes him a viable replacement for Roberto Firmino.
The only major question mark would be in goal, as Alisson’s back-up Simon Mignolet withdrew from the Belgian national team with an injury.
After defeating Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford, the Spurs team were brimming with confidence, especially considering the fact that they were the only team not to spend a penny over the summer transfer window.
They showed everyone, why they should be considered one of the favorites to win the Premier League this year. But their consistency issue came back when Watford (currently 4th in the table) came from behind to beat them 2-1 before the international break at Vicarage Road stadium. According to many, the Spurs team looked complacent.
The team that showed up against José Mourinho’s United was nowhere present against Watford. Mauricio Pochettino was clearly unhappy about his team’s performance. Clearly, he will be looking for a response from his players. It will be tough against a Liverpool team, who have conceded only one goal in PL this season. But the likes of Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli should be able to break the Liverpool defense.
It will be intriguing to see a Harry Kane vs Virgil van Dijk matchup. From Liverpool’s perspective, they will be looking to keep their place at the top of the table. They have won back to back matches till now. It’s only four matches into the season, but they already look the favorites to challenge Man City for the title.
After six months of adapting to life in north London, Lucas Moura looks set to play a much greater role in Tottenham’s fortunes this season and indicated as much with a player of the month-worthy August in the Premier League.
Spurs’ official Twitter account celebrated the Brazilian’s stellar run of three goals in two matches, including a brace against Manchester United:
If Tottenham are to get the better of a high-flying Liverpool, they will need more weapons than just Harry Kane, and Lucas is among their best in-form assets.
Liverpool kicked off the league with an emphatic 4-0 home win against West Ham but after that, they didn’t look completely convincing in their next three matches and still haven’t dropped a point. That is positive for the Liverpool team.
Their attacking front trio of Sadio Mané, Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino are deadly for any defense, who have scored seven goals between them. With the “engine” Naby Keïta behind them, who has adapted to the Premier League with ease, it is tough for any opposition team to contend.
This is the first of the seven matches for Liverpool in the space of less than a month, in which they will be facing PSG(CL, Home), Southampton(EPL, Home), Chelsea(League cup, Home), Chelsea(EPL, Away), Napoli(CL, Away) and Man City(EPL, Home). Klopp will be keen to start an important period of the season with a win.
Two attacking teams against each other is always a treat for the fans.
Elsewhere, Another key clash comes on Saturday evening as a Manchester United side on the rebound look to seal successive wins for the first time this season when they travel to Watford, who are still yet to drop a point after four games.
Manchester City host Fulham, Manchester United visit Watford, Chelsea take on Cardiff City and Arsenal travel to Newcastle United.
Chelsea are also perfect after four outings and host winless Cardiff City. This should be an easy win for the Blues, who have fully bought into Maurizio Sarri’s system and are well ahead of schedule at this point.
