Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors are languishing eight points behind the top four places ahead of the weekend's action, while Spurs are five points behind league leaders Arsenal.

Match preview

Having secured a crucial 2-1 win away to Marseille to secure top spot in Group D of the Champions League on Tuesday, Spurs should head into Sunday's encounter against Liverpool with plenty of confidence.

Antonio Conte's side fell behind yet again to Chancel Mbemba's powerful header on the stroke of half-time as they looked to be on the verge of being eliminated from Europe's elite competition, but Clement Lenglet's equaliser moved them back into second place, before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's rasping injury-time winner clinched top spot.

It was the second successive match where Tottenham came from behind to win after being on the cusp of suffering a third successive Premier League defeat when trailing Bournemouth 2-0 last weekend, but goals from Ryan Sessegnon, Ben Davies and another injury-time winner via Rodrigo Bentancur turned the match on its head.

That win ensured they will remain in the top four positions regardless of their result against Liverpool, although the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and their forthcoming opponents all have a game in hand on Conte's side, making it a great opportunity to extend their lead over them.

Having failed to beat Liverpool in any of their last 10 meetings in all competitions, however, there may be a psychological hurdle for them to overcome when the Reds arrive in North London.

Indeed, while Liverpool have massively struggled for consistency this season, their 2-0 win against Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday was further evidence that they can still mix it with any team on their day.

Jurgen Klopp's side are the only team to have beaten Manchester City, Newcastle and the Italian league leaders so far this season, yet they have fallen to successive Premier League defeats to Nottingham Forest and Leeds United in recent weeks.

Their 2-1 defeat at home to the Lilywhites last weekend was the first time they had lost in front of a full capacity crowd at Anfield in the Premier League since April 2017, with Virgil van Dijk's proud unbeaten record on his home turf coming to an end through Crysencio Summerville's dramatic 89th-minute winner.

While Liverpool's performances have been patchy to say the least throughout the course of the season, Klopp's side are consistently creating chances, with Darwin Nunez and Roberto Firmino both guilty of missing presentable chances with the scoreline level against Leeds, who admittedly benefitted from having an inspired Illan Meslier between the posts.

The German will be demanding more ruthlessness from his attacking players at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, as they surely can not afford to fall 13 points behind the top three teams in the table, which would be the case should they succumb to a third consecutive league loss.

Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:

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Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):

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Liverpool Premier League form:

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Liverpool form (all competitions):

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Team News

Tottenham suffered a major blow at Stade Velodrome in midweek, with Heung-min Son withdrawn during the first half having suffered a fractured eye socket in a collision with Mbemba.

The South Korea forward is now a major doubt to appear for his country at the World Cup in Qatar later this month, and his personal blow compounds Spurs' attacking woes with Richarlison also ruled out due to a muscle injury and Dejan Kulusevski unlikely to be able to start having only returned to light training in the past day or two.

Crristian Romero has missed his side's last two matches with a muscle strain and may not be risked with the World Cup beginning exactly two weeks after this fixture, with Eric Dier potentially filling in as a right-sided centre-half once again in order to allow left-footers Lenglet and Davies to complete Conte's back three.

Liverpool, meanwhile, were boosted by the return of Ibrahima Konate to their backline against Napoli, and the France defender is likely to receive the nod ahead of Joe Gomez alongside van Dijk against Spurs.

Nunez scored from the bench against Luciano Spalletti's side and should replace Curtis Jones on the left flank, while Andy Robertson and club captain Jordan Henderson were both rested altogether and should freshen up the side in place of Kostas Tsimikas and James Milner, who has been ruled out of contention after suffering concussion on Tuesday.

Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Arthur, Naby Keita and Joel Matip remain sidelined with long-term injuries.

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Lloris; Dier, Lenglet, Davies; Emerson, Bissouma, Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Perisic; Moura, Kane

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Firmino, Nunez

We say: Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Liverpool

Liverpool have a habit of turning up against the bigger teams this season, and we can see that continuing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

The loss of Son through injury is a huge blow for Spurs' hopes of winning this match, with Conte's side lacking a deadly out ball in transition as a result, meaning the Reds can push higher with more confidence and look to strangle their opponents through possession.

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