Liverpoolvs.Spurs

The Australian took a punt on five alterations for Thursday's London derby with Chelsea, albeit to no avail as the Lilywhites deservedly went down 2-0 to their capital rivals.

Two of those changes were enforced, as Timo Werner (hamstring) and Ben Davies (calf) both sustained issues in last weekend's North London derby, which will rule them out for the rest of the season.

Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring), Manor Solomon (knee), Destiny Udogie (thigh) and Fraser Forster (foot) are in the same boat, so Postecoglou will have an identical squad at his disposal for the trip north.

Limited options for rotation in defence means that the Lilywhites should field an unchanged backline of Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Emerson Royal and Micky van de Ven, unless Postecoglou wants to see the latter in action at left-back.

Emerson - like most of his teammates - flattered to deceive in West London, but the Brazilian should retain his spot out wide as Van de Ven covers centrally, thereby forcing Radu Dragusin to wait his turn.

Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma have lost their way since start of the season, but only the former may lose his place to the returning Rodrigo Bentancur, as neither Oliver Skipp nor Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg justify a starting berth right now.

Further forward, James Maddison was axed from the first XI in midweek amid his individual slump, but the England international ought to come straight back into contention for a starting slot on Sunday.

Richarlison could be sacrificed in that scenario, allowing Son Heung-min to revert to a central position as Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson bomb down the flanks.

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Emerson; Bentancur, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Johnson; Son