Owen's Premier League predictions as Tottenham worry identified vs Liverpool

Former England international Michael Owen has pointed at an issue that is out of Tottenham 's control which may prevent Antonio Conte's men from getting a result against Liverpool this weekend.

The former Reds and Newcastle star has been vocal in his praise for Jurgen Klopp's team this season.

Owen has previously highlighted the likes of Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold as the best in the world for their respective positions, as well as consistently commending the work of manager Jurgen Klopp.

Liverpool look to have pulled away at the top of the table with Manchester City and Chelsea in a three-horse race for the Premier League title, and Owen doesn't believe Spurs will prove too difficult of a task to overcome for the Anfield outfit.

Previewing this week's league fixtures for BetVictor, the 42-year-old spoke of how he believes Klopp's side will beat Spurs 3-1, he said: "Spurs have now not played a game in almost two weeks. There are positives and negatives to that.

"It's given Antonio Conte more time on the training ground which is a good thing. The worry would be if they have now lost some of their match sharpness and could come into this one rusty.

"Liverpool continue to win and score at will. It wasn't an unbelievable performance against Newcastle but they still cruised to the win (3-1) in the end. Trent Alexander-Arnold's goal was superb as well. For a right back to have that much quality and technique is rare and he's a special player.

"I fancy Liverpool in every game at the minute. They're playing with so much confidence and are looking like the side of a couple of seasons ago. I can see Spurs scoring but Liverpool winning in the end."

Have Your Say! Will Liverpool beat Tottenham on Sunday? Comment below

Tottenham have been having to deal with a Covid outbreak over the past few weeks after numerous members of their first team, under-23s and the coaching team tested positive for the virus.

Conte's side had games against Rennes (Europa Conference League), Brighton and Leicester City all cancelled/postponed over the last ten days.

The outbreak has led many to question who will be available for this weekend's major tie and also just how busy Tottenham will be in the January transfer considering the extended list of absences recently highlighted the lack of depth in the team.

Owen then went on to predict Manchester City to beat Newcastle 3-1 as well, Chelsea to scrape past Wolves 1-0 and Aston Villa to continue their good form with a 2-0 victory over Burnley.

The former Real Madrid star's most eyebrow-raising prediction of the weekend is for Leeds to beat Arsenal 2-1 on Saturday evening.

Marcelo Bielsa's side lost 7-0 to Manchester City in a humiliating defeat, whereas the Gunners moved into the top four with a 2-0 victory over West Ham thanks to goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith-Rowe.

However, despite the form tipping the balance for most, the North London club may be somewhat unsettled at the minute after captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was stripped of his captaincy and frozen out of the side earlier this week for failing to return from a holiday on the agreed date.