Pre-Match: Liverpool V Tottenham EPL (Wed 16th Dec 2020 8:00pm)

It will be an emotional Anfield that hosts this table-topping clash, following the passing of ex-Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier on 14 December. The champions and their likeliest challengers enter this midweek clash tied on points and record (W7, D4, L1).

Recent H2H history clearly favours Liverpool, who are on a five-match winning streak against ‘Spurs’ in all competitions. In fact, Liverpool have now played 51 matches against the consistent ‘Top Six’ sides of 2017, 2018 and 2019 under Jürgen Klopp, coming out the other end with 24 wins (D19, L8).

Though favourites yet again, the ‘Reds’ have drawn half of their last six competitive matches - five of which featured under 2.5 total goals. At home, however, Liverpool have a 100% record in the Premier League (PL) so far - scoring in all six first halves and leading at half-time in four. All six also featured over 2.5 total goals, and Liverpool scored their last goal after the 75th minute in five.

NB: Team no longer available

We just cannot allow us to lose at Anfield,even more to Spurs. If we lose that, it's clear we're letting Spurs having this league while we're the best team around.

We just cannot allow us to lose at Anfield,even more to Spurs. If we lose that, it's clear we're letting Spurs having this league while we're the best team around.

You're totally right. We need to win this game to put doubts in their mind and some confidence in us.

Our fans need to do their part as well as usual.

We’re not gonna win it, or even draw with Minamino in the middle. It’s gonna be a battle in there snd he just hasn’t got what it takes physically, as talented s as he is !

If Matip is ok start him with Philips or Williams. Push Fab out to midfield to close down Kane in his new deeper role

Expect Kane to be a weakling tomorrow. Fall down at the close proximity. Matip and Fab have to be careful.

Top spoiler Mourinho will be all over ending our magnificent home run and Harry Kane will no doubt get one of his 'clever English' penalties.

We need the front three to be on their game because I suspect we're going to need more than 2 goals.

League is so tight this year that games v top 6 plus local derby are going to be huge

So fsr from top 6 we have played

City, Chelsea and Leicester, as well as the sh*te. 8 points from 12 so far not a disaster. 3 points here will be massive, but not losing would probably even outweigh that. I saud already if we get to March in the mix, well kick on and win it, so the lesd breathing space, or hope, we give those around us the better.

Our front 3 could do with finding 2018 form though

We need the front three to be on their game because I suspect we're going to need more than 2 goals.

Certainly. In case one of which is chalked off for a unexplained finger offside...

We’re not gonna win it, or even draw with Minamino in the middle. It’s gonna be a battle in there snd he just hasn’t got what it takes physically, as talented s as he is !

Wijnaldum looks tired last Sunday. Minamino looked full of energy and wanting the ball. Jones, Henderson and Minamino will have enough for me.

Wijnaldum looks tired last Sunday. Minamino looked full of energy and wanting the ball. Jones, Henderson and Minamino will have enough for me.

Gini had a rest before that game so should not be tired it was that he was poor really and will certainly play tomorrow

Gini had a rest before that game so should not be tired it was that he was poor really and will certainly play tomorrow

He plays best at home so hope you're right. Keita is injured again?

                 Alisson

  Trent Philips Matip Robbo


                     Fab

           Hendo      Gini

                     Taki
 
              Mo          Mane

Maybe something a little different then what spurs will expect.

Bobby and Curtis off the bench and maybe a 15 minute impact from Ox?

Wijnaldum looks tired last Sunday. Minamino looked full of energy and wanting the ball. Jones, Henderson and Minamino will have enough for me.

Has Minamino ever put a tackle in without giving away a foul yet?

Midfield has to be Hendo, Gini and Curtis.

Can't afford to take Fab out of central defence. Hopefully Matip will start beside him.

No time for playing hunches

Need some of that famously monstrous mentality

Midfield has to be Hendo, Gini and Curtis.

Can't afford to take Fab out of central defence. Hopefully Matip will start beside him.

No time for playing hunches

Need some of that famously monstrous mentality

Curtis should start imo, he was good against Fulham as well

He plays best at home so hope you're right. Keita is injured again?

Appears so not sure on return date for him or Milner or Shaq

Don't know how to call this. We could lose 2-1, or we could win 4-0. Should definitely be goals in it.

Keita and Matip maybes

Keita and Matip maybes

Aren't they always?

This is going to be a tough one as Jose goes Jose on us and parks the bus and try to hit us on the counter.

A game like this you really miss Van Dijk because of his spatial awareness and pace against a counter attack.

You go with the best team available, which at this point there is not much to grab from.

Arnold - Matip - Fabinho - Robertson
                 Hendo
             Gini - Jones
         Mo - Bobby - Mane

I'm not sure why but I'm weirdly confident about this game, I think it could be another scoreline similar to Wolves. I think one of the reasons why we were so sh*t against Fulham in the first 30 minutes was because the lads were already focusing on this game, not good but it happens.

I just have a feeling we are going to come out and batter them, especially with the home advantage, Mane to finally click back into gear and Bobby as well.

were hurting after the fulham game, we usually bounce back with a venom after a poor game.

watch out spuds. !!

Mane to score, he has went to long without a goal now.

If we do lose I hope we find time to applaud our amazing home unbeaten run.
But, let’s not lose.
Not to Jose.

Smash these cu*ts, can’t stand the F***ing club..

Cut the supply to Song & don’t fall for Kane backing into players to earn a free kick for himself & we are good..

Jose will set up for a smash & grab...

Jose playing the mind games I see!

If Spurs revert to type and play on the backfoot I'd be tempted to see if we could get Fabinho into the midfield but obviously that can only happen if Matip is fit. Fab in the middle would hopefully disrupt Kane dropping deep and building the Spurs counter attacks.

Big thing is needing the front three to click back into gear. Can't remember the last time they played well together and caused havoc to be honest - we've currently been relying on them individually and that's going to make breaking Spurs down very difficult.

Midfield has to be Hendo, Gini and Curtis.

Don't think any of them were covered in glory at the weekend. But an obvious lack of alternatives.

Don't think any of them were covered in glory at the weekend. But an obvious lack of alternatives.

Sure, but he won't be picking just based on the last match. This three have done rather well for us this season, and previously at least with Gini and Hendo. With Fab needed in the back, it's our best three.

I see Naby is back in training, but I wouldn't expect him to start.

To be honest, anything he gives us now, for me, is a bonus. Just hasn't worked out.

I’d be very tempted to have Fab in front of the back 4 for this, although we do not man mark I would have him on Kane all night long, if Matip is fit I’d  have him and Phillips as CB’s, Trent and Robbo providing the width to spread the play and by pass Sissoko & Holjberg, Hendo & Gini doing the donkey work in the middle, and the usual three amigos up top providing the goodies,

It all depends on Matip, if he’s oot, I’d play Fab & Phillips, with Hendo, Gini & Jones in front instead, for me this is a crucial game, a win would give us top spot on our own and a platform to build another unassailable lead, lose then we just carry on and build the pressure as time goes on, see if the Spudettes can handle the pressure, ultimately they will crack, I reckon there’ll be lots of bumps in the road before May, but I still make us favourites despite the injury list, where we are after the Xmas madness will be telling for sure.



                                                                   Alisson

                                                  Trent    Matip   Phillips   Robbo

                                                                  Fabinho

                                                       Henderson   Wijnaldom

                                                      Salah.                    Mane
                                                                    Bobby

Another game where we miss out on Thiago, he would be perfect for this fixture, alas, we will just need to win it without him, and win it we will.



3-1 Champions



                                                                           Y  N  W  A

I’d be very tempted to have Fab in front of the back 4 for this, although we do not man mark I would have him on Kane all night long, if Matip is fit I’d  have him and Phillips as CB’s, Trent and Robbo providing the width to spread the play and by pass Sissoko & Holjberg, Hendo & Gini doing the donkey work in the middle, and the usual three amigos up top providing the goodies,

It all depends on Matip, if he’s oot, I’d play Fab & Phillips, with Hendo, Gini & Jones in front instead, for me this is a crucial game, a win would give us top spot on our own and a platform to build another unassailable lead, lose then we just carry on and build the pressure as time goes on, see if the Spudettes can handle the pressure, ultimately they will crack, I reckon there’ll be lots of bumps in the road before May, but I still make us favourites despite the injury list, where we are after the Xmas madness will be telling for sure.



                                                                   Alisson

                                                  Trent    Matip   Phillips   Robbo

                                                                  Fabinho

                                                       Henderson   Wijnaldom

                                                      Salah.                    Mane
                                                                    Bobby

Another game where we miss out on Thiago, he would be perfect for this fixture, alas, we will just need to win it without him, and win it we will.



3-1 Champions



                                                                           Y  N  W  A

I have a sneaky this might happen too, we need more height for corners etc. big natt helps with that.

Expect Kane to be a weakling tomorrow. Fall down at the close proximity. Matip and Fab have to be careful.

Worse than that is his new cynical backing into airborne players and falling over to win free kicks and penalties.

On the flip side sending the opposition player who's none the wiser as they are looking at the ball into some very dangerous scenarios.

Will break someone's neck doint it soon enough if hes allowed to continue with it.

https://twitter.com/NewhouseT/status/1335934664985505794?s=19

Don't think any of them were covered in glory at the weekend. But an obvious lack of alternatives.

Thought Jones did alright second half lets not forget he is playing more than we originally thought carried the ball better than Gini thats for sure and could of easily have scored winner with a bit more luck

What has Shaq to not even mentioned the last couple of weeks? We need him and he's MIA.

What has Shaq to not even mentioned the last couple of weeks? We need him and he's MIA.

Getting fit would help

Thought Jones did alright second half lets not forget he is playing more than we originally thought carried the ball better than Gini thats for sure and could of easily have scored winner with a bit more luck

Was gutted that late solo effort didn't go in. Would have been an almost a carbon copy of Gerrard's first goal against Sheffield Wednesday in 1999!

Worse than that is his new cynical backing into airborne players and falling over to win free kicks and penalties.

On the flip side sending the opposition player who's none the wiser as they are looking at the ball into some very dangerous scenarios.

Will break someone's neck doint it soon enough if hes allowed to continue with it.

https://twitter.com/NewhouseT/status/1335934664985505794?s=19

How the hell is that a foul for Kane, he is the one backing into the other player, he's even looking at them? I agree it's extremely dangerous.

Was gutted that late solo effort didn't go in. Would have been an almost a carbon copy of Gerrard's first goal against Sheffield Wednesday in 1999!

He's a very similar player to Stevie G, he's getting more and more confident as well.

Thank god Mou helped us with his stupid meme. We should be on fire. Thanks, Jose.

Chelsea beaten again got to win this one

If harry kane back in to any of our players like that I hope they land him with an accidental elbow as they crash to the ground.
He could seriously injure someone but once again all good ol’ Harry cares about is Kane FC.

I actually can’t stand him.

If harry kane back in to any of our players like that I hope they land him with an accidental elbow as they crash to the ground.
He could seriously injure someone but once again all good ol’ Harry cares about is Kane FC.

I actually can’t stand him.

You’ve no idea how happy it makes me that he left the only european cup final he’ll ever be in with a runners up medal because of the reds

Just had some sort of premonition. Sat here minding my own business when I got a mental message from somewhere.
We are gonna press and Spuds will sit deep.
We will get a breakthrough and score mid first half.
They will have a bit more of a go at us second half and we will pick them off and score again. 2:0 to the reds. Have just changed my prediction to suit 😊

Worse than that is his new cynical backing into airborne players and falling over to win free kicks and penalties.

On the flip side sending the opposition player who's none the wiser as they are looking at the ball into some very dangerous scenarios.

Will break someone's neck doint it soon enough if hes allowed to continue with it.

https://twitter.com/NewhouseT/status/1335934664985505794?s=19

He’ll continue getting away with it. He seems to be league’s poster boy and has a free pass in everything. If they have doubts who to credit goals to, it’s Kane. Own goal or Kane? Kane for sure.

Personally think we'll smash them. 4-0 to the reds.

This game comes down to how Mane and Bobby perform. If they go missing we draw. If just one of them falls into forum we win by 2 goals. We will have a lot of the ball tomorrow. Gotta make it count.

3-1 Reds

Matip needs to mark Kane from set pieces. I'm sick of seeing other teams tallest players being marked by Robbo and trent etc.

Tough game against the Spuds tonight, I feel Son is a dangerous player for them upfront, he seems always likely to score, although Kane obviously another dangerman. A very tough game tonight at home and we need to defend well. I think Curtis Jones should be in the starting line up, showing improvement all the time. I think Mane is due a goal feeling it will be a draw, although being bias going for 2  1 for the champions.

I think Bale will play...

Jose with his psychological tricks...

Hopefully we can have some mark of respect worthy of Gerard Houllier pre match, then go and give him the perfect performance.

Liking the optimism but gone for a tight 3-2 win for us possibly with Kane, Son, Mo, Sadio & Bobby all scoring, that said was it Maureen in charge of the chavs when we stopped their unbeaten home run, and does anyone think he may get revenge tonight?

Think we batter them, players will be chomping at the bit after Sunday.

Would anyone be against seeing Fabinho back in midfield tonight? It be harsh on Jones after his performances but I think against a park bus he keeps it moving to the full backs quicker than anyone ?

Think we batter them, players will be chomping at the bit after Sunday.

Would anyone be against seeing Fabinho back in midfield tonight? It be harsh on Jones after his performances but I think against a park bus he keeps it moving to the full backs quicker than anyone ?

Jones was the standout player for me 2nd half, if he would have scored that goal after the run - he would be the talk of the country, knowing him as we do, he will be absolutley full of confidence and I wouldn't bet against him having a major say. I just love his attitude and with him playing alongside Jordan I think he is going to be an amazing player. If anything Gini looked like he could do with a rest...

Saying that - Jones - Fab - Hendo in midfield isn't bad is it.

Our toughest game of the season so far perhaps?

For me it has to be Hendo, Gini and Jones in midfield.

Normal from three and then as strong as we can at the back.

Mourinho will be relishing this one you can bet

What has Shaq to not even mentioned the last couple of weeks? We need him and he's MIA.

got injured playing for the swiss.

Think we batter them, players will be chomping at the bit after Sunday.

Would anyone be against seeing Fabinho back in midfield tonight? It be harsh on Jones after his performances but I think against a park bus he keeps it moving to the full backs quicker than anyone ?

No, Im all for it to nullify Kanes impact in his deeper role. If Matip is fit im fine with Rhys or Philips in with him. The trio of Fab Hendo and Gini getting a stranglehold in the centre is vital for me

got injured playing for the swiss.

Didn't he have covid around that time or was that another international break?

This will be F***ing difficult, totally different to the past where sometimes Spurs dominated us at Anfield for at least 45 mins.

I love Son, he’s so good and such a Klopp type player, have to somehow stop him and Kane (we are usually pretty good at nullifying Kane)

This will be f**king difficult, totally different to the past where sometimes Spurs dominated us at Anfield for at least 45 mins.

I love Son, he’s so good and such a Klopp type player, have to somehow stop him and Kane (we are usually pretty good at nullifying Kane)

Tbh we are able to stop kane when we had vvd, but i feel fabinho is upto the task as well

This is a six pointer with yesterday's results. Come on Reds, please!!!

Seems like all the top teams in the league are dropping points just now, including Spurs and us. It's just a very different animal, this season, with the long layoff, the short break and the compressed schedule. Very much a war of attrition and mentality will be even more essential than usual. A little luck will help as well.

I'll take some luck to go with mentality today for our side.

Seems like all the top teams in the league are dropping points just now, including Spurs and us. It's just a very different animal, this season, with the long layoff, the short break and the compressed schedule. Very much a war of attrition and mentality will be even more essential than usual. A little luck will help as well.

I'll take some luck to go with mentality today for our side.

70/75 points to win the league this season..

70/75 points to win the league this season..

Absolutely no way. At least 80 points. Probably closer to 90.

Absolutely no way. At least 80 points. Probably closer to 90.

I'd say he's probably right. I think City will emerge as our biggest challengers again once the dust has finally settled. Last season they managed 81 points, which meant 82 points would have won us the title. The way they're going at the moment I'd put money on them clocking up a lower points tally than they did in the previous campaign, so we could realistically only need around 75 points to win the title.

As mentioned Mourinho will be relishing this one, the opportunity to end our unbeaten home record.

Really tough game but always fancy us at Anfield. Come through this and you gotta say we are favourites for the title despite our injuries.

Absolutely no way. At least 80 points. Probably closer to 90.

It’s a point dropping season, no one wants to take charge of the league ..

Reminds me when leicster won the title...

TalkSPORT were just talking about Harry Kane, he going to injure some one when backing in to players when they go up for headers and he needs to cut it out of his game. Hopefully refs have caught on and will have an eye on him tonight 

Matip will start if fit obviously, but if not I'd be quite interested to see Phillips up against Kane. Kane is pretty physical and likes to bully players, but I've a feeling Phillips could do ok against him. So , assuming no Matip -


               Alisson
Trent Phillips Fab Robbo
   Hendo Gini Jones
  Mo    Bobby   Sadio

Danger area will be down our right hand side, with them trying to get Son away behind Trent on the counter. Hence I'd play Hendo on the right of midfield, and tell him to stay pretty deep (unless/until we have to start taking risks at some point)

Don’t give a shiny sh*te how many points it will take to win the title just so long as we have more than everyone  else,

If you put down on paper the two teams likely to play tonight, you’d still take us as the more likely to win, despite our injuries player for player we are better, from Alisson to Bobby every player is a match or betters his opponent, there are one or two who you could argue fair better than what we have currently on form, but over all we are better,

I take a lot of confidence in knowing that Maureen tends to park his double decker normally, however he has the players now to come out and play so I reckon he’ll want his players to have a go tonight, there are no excuses for him now, if he genuinely thinks his side are good enough they have to prove they are, and there is no better statement than to come to the current champions and beat them in their own back yard, is there ?

So come on Maureen bring it f***in on, let’s see how much belief you have in your team !



3-1 Champions elect 2




                                                                              Y  N  W  A

It’s a point dropping season, no one wants to take charge of the league ..

Reminds me when leicster won the title...

Yep.

Won't need 90 points to win the league this season.

Matip will start if fit obviously, but if not I'd be quite interested to see Phillips up against Kane. Kane is pretty physical and likes to bully players, but I've a feeling Phillips could do ok against him. So , assuming no Matip -

He done very well against Soucek and Haller when we played West Ham so no doubt he’ll have the physicality but obviously Kane has more strings to his bow than the aforementioned.

Need Mane and Firmino to step up tonight

Need Mane and Firmino to step up tonight

Add Salah to that list as well

Add Salah to that list as well

but he'll score a PK so no one will mention when he's playing horrible.

Seems like all the top teams in the league are dropping points just now, including Spurs and us. It's just a very different animal, this season, with the long layoff, the short break and the compressed schedule.

Reckon only one team will get more than 85 points.