As Tottenham Hotspur travel to Merseyside to face Liverpool, this is about a battle of contrasting styles as much as anything else as the teams vie for first place in the Premier League.
After the draw last week versus Crystal Palace, it seemed unlikely Tottenham Hotspur would come into the showdown with Liverpool in first place. Yet first place is where Spurs find themselves as they make the trip up to Merseyside. With a potential six-point swing at stake, what can we expect in the Spurs biggest game of the year to date?
Form Meets Form
Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are two of the hottest teams in the league right now. Collectively the two teams have only lost twice all season long. Tottenham last lost on opening weekend to Everton, a streak of 10 straight without a defeat. Whereas Liverpool last lost on matchday 4 to Aston Villa. Since that stunning 7-2 loss to Villa, Liverpool have not lost in eight matches.
Admittedly, both teams will tell you they have drawn more times already than they would have liked with four draws each. Those four points they each have are the difference between leading the table and being tied with five other teams for 5th place. If you cannot win a draw becomes acceptable when the circumstances are right.
Bottom line is both teams hate to lose and do not do it very often – at least this season. The biggest difference is in how the teams go about their football, which is a contrast in styles.
Old School vs New School
As José Mourinho and Tottenham bring a more conservative approach to the game to face Jürgen Klopp and his more aggressive pressing scheme, we very much have a matchup of contrasting styles. Both teams rely on the notion that they can capitalize on the opponent’s mistakes, it is just that Liverpool more actively seeks to create those mistakes and, in the process, dominate the ball.
Tottenham certainly can dominate possession, although it has been seen less during this vicious stretch of games Spurs are currently going through. By not working to press throughout the entire field and being willing to concede possession, Tottenham are hoping to have a step that maybe a Liverpool with their all-out aggressive style might not as the games pile up.
Based on how we have seen the two sides succeed this season, it is highly likely that Tottenham sit in a mid-low block and force Liverpool to break them down. While, not likely to concede the 75% possession that Fulham did this past week in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool; Aston Villa managed to put 7 past the Reds with only 30% possession. It is this Aston Villa blueprint that likely most has Mourinho’s attention.
Aston Villa are even MORE willing to concede possession than Tottenham having the fewest touches of any team in the Premier League. While a game in hand has impacted that, it still underlines the point that you do not need possession to win, even against top teams.
The real question is if Jürgen Klopp decides to make some changes to his style and defense with the mounting injuries in the back. With both Joel Matip and Virgil Van Dyke out for Liverpool, they have been playing either defensive midfielders or young players at central defense. The idea of abandoning the highline considering Tottenham’s attack would not be completely out of the question but does kind of go against Klopp’s desire to instill his will on each match. It is likely the team that diverges the most from what they do best is the one to make the slip and let the other in. The question is who blinks first.
Players to Watch
There are several players to watch for on both sides that are going to really decide the game. Here are the ones that will have the biggest impact on the outcome, two for each team.
Andrew Robertson
Andy Robertson is a left back and yet the focal point of the Liverpool attack. So central to everything Liverpool does, Robertson leads the Premier League in touches on the season. How much Robertson can get into the attacking third is going to have a major impact on the game. While Trent Alexander-Arnold gets a lot of recognition, he is recovering from injury and Robertson has carried the load in TAA’s absence. If Tottenham can frustrate Robertson, it can slow the Liverpool attack, by forcing others to facilitate play.
Fabinho
Fabinho is an outstanding defensive midfielder and as we have seen with Eric Dier, a good defensive midfielder can transition nicely to center half. However, as we have also seen with Eric Dier, sometimes that transition takes time. Neither Klopp nor Fabinho have interest in seeing the Brazilian in the center back position permanently, but necessity makes strange bedfellows and often like Fernandino with City, the defensive midfielder goes to defense.
What makes this particularly challenging is not that Fabinho is not a good defender, rather it his trying to fight his own natural tendencies as a midfielder. Midfielders tend to drift further forward than defenders do. Add in a striker dropping deep and suddenly you have a recipe for big space in the back over the top for Tottenham to exploit. If Fabinho can maintain his discipline and resist the temptation to drop with Kane, Spurs will have a hard time finding space over the top. However, if Fabinho starts to roam, look for Tottenham to take advantage.
Son Heung-Min
Son Heung-Min currently is tied with Mohamed Salah of Liverpool for the lead league in goals at 10. For Tottenham to have a chance to win, they need Son to have a big game and make a difference on the offensive end. Tottenham do not have to dominate possession, but they do need to get the South Korean the ball in the attacking third as much as possible.
With makeshift defenders in the back, having Son run at them is an inviting option for Tottenham. Further, how much we see Son playing defense as opposed to offense will be a leading indicator of success in the match. If Son can stay pushed up, it keeps backs with him and out of the attack. If Son is deeper and helping defend more than less, then Spurs may have a harder time getting out of their back end.
Harry Kane
Real surprise here that the two key players for Tottenham are Son and Harry Kane, but the reality is they are the ones who make Tottenham go. Kane has been the chief facilitator on the pitch for much of the season as he has shown an increased range of vision dropping deeper in the set-up. Additionally, his work in hold-up play helps to provide relief to the defense and give the attack an opportunity to form. A couple of assists and a goal or two are likely going to be needed, because as good as Spurs defense has been, the Liverpool offense is that good and Liverpool has not been shutout all year, so that is unlikely to start here at Anfield.
How to Watch
You can catch the game in the UK on Amazon Prime Streaming, and it is available in the US on NBCSports and Universo for a Spanish language broadcast.
Prediction
While some seem to think this will end up low scoring the odds of there being zero goals in the match up with the two of the highest scoring teams in league seems unlikely. That said Liverpool can defend as they do have three clean sheets. Ultimately, this will be an open game and will be decided by who scores most with Spurs winning 2-4, behind another amazing Harry Kane performance, as the talisman gets two assists and two goals in a game that will leave most speechless.