Spurs visit Anfield as Klopp’s men aim to get back on track

Liverpool and Tottenham have had contrasting starts to their Premier League campaigns.

But with both sides winning handsomely in midweek, Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino will watch their sides do battle at their potential maximum on Sunday.

With Liverpool thrashing Genk 4-1 courtesy of two screamers from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Spurs smashing Red Star for five, the cauldron is already spitting with the poison of a murderous matchup in Halloween week.

Last time out in the league both sides faded to 1-1 draws, or in the Reds case, snatched a 1-1 draw contrary to their pre-match favourites tag.

Going to Old Trafford is never easy, as highlighted in the ‘Through the Years’ three-part series on ‘Prost International’, but with the Reds eight out of eight they were backed to thump Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s out of form Manchester United.

But with VAR controversy and brilliance from Marcus Rashford, the Reds looked like they were heading for their first defeat since January in the league. Unlikely hero Adam Lallana popped up with an equaliser though, and Liverpool had nicked a point.

Spurs were at home to Watford. Dismal, dismal Watford. Well they were until they rocked up to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Abdoulaye Doucoure got the ball rolling for the Hornets, but with more VAR nonsense and a cool finish from Dele Alli, Spurs’ managed to halt their losing streak.

Team news

For the home side, Xherdan Shaqiri remains the only foreseeable doubt excluding Nathaniel Clyne, with Joel Matip and Trent Alexander-Arnold expected to have recovered from their knocks and illnesses which prevented them from travelling to Belgium.

Spurs themselves seem fresh except for the shocking arm injury suffered by Hugo Lloris. Ryan Sessegnon is the only other player expected to be sidelined.

Klopp foresees Tottenham resilience under Pochettino

“I do not 100% understand what has happened.

“What I see now in midweek is the real Spurs. This is the team we need to prepare for. We can not prepare for a team that is struggling because we know that they want to improve their situation. We need to be intense in this game.”

Spurs boss respects but ‘knows’ Reds

“We know each other because we play a lot of games, then it’s having a good game and doing what we plan to do.

“In football that is the key, then in 90 minutes if you show better quality than the opponent and you share some luck in your side.

“We can talk about their strengths and of course unbelievable players and a great coach. I admire Jurgen a lot.

“But at the end, likely always, it is 90 minutes of football and we hope we can perform the way we want and be close to win.”

Head-to-head

LIVERPOOL WINS – 83

DRAWS – 42

TOTTENHAM WINS – 48