Tottenham Hotspur Projected XI for Liverpool on Thursday

On Thursday evening Tottenham get their second shot at Liverpool in the last six weeks, with both teams fighting to stay in the Premier League race. For Tottenham Hotspur it is an opportunity to prove they are a part of the title race and for Liverpool, they are trying to right the ship following a rough patch of games. This is the twenty we believe José Mourinho will use, as he seeks to kick Liverpool while they are down and leapfrog the champs in the standings.

No Tottenham Formation Funny Business

The last time Tottenham Hotspur played Liverpool, José Mourinho decided to change up the formation a bit. Instead of going with the 4-2-3-1 Spurs had used for eight straight matches without a defeat, José threw a curveball and went with the 4-4-2 instead.

In some respects the formation worked as Tottenham probably should have left with a point, but leaving Anfield with a point was never really the objective. With a formation that Spurs had not used all season, nor since, Tottenham were not connecting across the pitch and were dominated in possession.

While we know Tottenham do not need to win the battle of possession to win a football match, you want to keep it close. In that first match-up Liverpool had 76% of the possession. That is the kind of possession advantage Tottenham held on Marine and Wycombe in the FA Cup and simply wears teams out.

Spurs simply cannot afford to concede that much of the ball to Liverpool.

This is especially true with the Reds struggling to score right now, the more their chances can be limited the better off Tottenham will be. With attacking Liverpool in mind, here is the line-up we believe José Mourinho will use on Thursday.