Liverpool are back in action after the first international break of the season, and it's against their first 'top six' test of the season. The Reds venture down to London to take on Tottenham at Wembley, since Tottenham's new stadium is not yet ready to host matches. It's a rematch of the fixture from just about eleven months ago where Liverpool suffered their last three-goal defeat, losing 4-1 to Spurs in their last real awful result. They will hope to avenge that loss at 7:30 AM EST on Saturday.
Team News:
The main news coming out of the Liverpool team is that Dejan Lovren's injury is still a hindrance and he will be lucky to play before the next international break, and figures to be out of action until at least October. It's been sort of a mystery injury for Lovren, the timeline of it starting with his return from the World Cup where Jurgen Klopp described it as "serious, but not too serious." The word is a stomach muscle injury stemming from Lovren playing through pain at the World Cup, and the fears preseason that it may have been worse than the club initially let on seem to be at least a touch true. With fixtures coming in rapidly for Liverpool, including the start of Champions League and Chelsea in the league and in the league cup on the horizon, Liverpool are staring down that fixture list with three fit first-choice center-backs. With Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool's August player of the month, having played 180 minutes of football on the international break as well, and Joe Gomez having a full match with England under his belt, the mileage on the center backs early on in this season will be fairly high and the hopes from fans of any of the three avoiding an injury are even higher.
Aside from Lovren, Liverpool have been lucky to avoid any major injury concerns over this international break. That does not mean, however, that the break was without incident. Adam Lallana was selected to the English national side for the break, but was sent home with a knock. Fortunately for Liverpool, it was simply a minor injury and the sending home was more precautionary than anything. Lallana took to social media to confirm he would be fit for the upcoming month of fixtures with Liverpool. Perhaps he may miss out on the squad against Tottenham, but having been at Melwood with the squad training and recovering for about a week-and-a-half and has been spotted in full training with the boys in red, so I expect no further concerns for him with this minor setback.
Likewise, Simon Mignolet was pulled from the Belgium squad with concerns over a finger injury. Similar to Lallana, though, concerns are not great and like him, I imagine he is available for the squad. On the other hand, young keeper Caoimhin Kelleher will miss out for at least a month with a calf injury after a training collision with Divock Origi. With Mignolet and Lallana both being back in training, though, it was close to a clean international break for Liverpool and the side will feel good about its collective fitness.
Tottenham's fitness is just a bit more complicated as two key men have been confirmed to be missing out on Saturday's match.. First is star midfield man Dele Alli, who missed out against England's match with Switzerland, and was thought to likely be cleared, but is not back to match fitness yet. It's a big blow for Spurs who will have to go without a key piece of the way they play. The other first-team miss is keeper and club captain Hugo Lloris. The Frenchman, who was just found guilty for drunk driving and handed a 50,000 pound fine and banned from driving for 20 months, is dealing with a muscle injury and will miss out on his second league match in a row. In his place would be surely be Michel Vorm, who also started in place of Lloris in the match against Watford before the international break. Third keeper, Paulo Gazzaniga, will be the man to make the bench.
Elsewhere, it's a bit chaotic around the ground for Spurs as Erik Lamela is back in training after suffering a preseason injury that's held him back from full fitness. He's been ready to go for a while, making a cameo in their 3-1 August victory over Fulham, and could play a part in the match. Moussa Sissoko, on the other hand, fresh off transfer speculation, is working himself back from a recent injury as well and will be back in training for Spurs next week. Finally is news that Spurs fans greatly appreciate, and that will be the return of Son Heung-min. Heung-min's South Korean side won the Asian Games that occurred over the past couple of weeks, which he missed Spurs' first fixtures of the seasons for, and with that victory he became exempt from military service for his country. It is huge for the Korean star, whose career likely would never have been the same if military service was needed since he would have been ineligible to play for the top military sides in Korea while serving. Still, after a busy summer of international fixtures including both the games, recent friendlies, and the World Cup, I would not think Son is a candidate to start for Mauricio Pochettino.
Projected Liverpool Line-Up: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Milner, Keita; Salah, Firmino, Mane
Projected Tottenham Line-Up: Vorm; Alderweireld, Davinson, Vertonghen; Trippier, Dier, Dembele, Rose; Eriksen; Moura, Kane
Previewing the Match:
Tottenham had been flying through the early matches of the season, perhaps even in more dominating fashion than Liverpool. The 3-0 victory at Old Trafford over Manchester United was talk of the footballing world for a full week, perhaps even longer as it's been the result of the season thus far. That was followed up, however, with a 2-1 loss to surprise side Watford sending them into international break with a sour taste in their mouth. They will hope to write that wrong and set themselves back on the winning track against Liverpool, who will hope to continue a perfect 4-0-0 start to the season. The two teams have developed a little bit of a rivalry after the heated match at Anfield that ended 2-2 after two controversial Spurs penalties, one saved, one converted, and perhaps Mo Salah's finest goal of the season. Combined with Salah's Golden Boot race with Harry Kane, and it should be a fun meeting between two of England's top sides over the past couple of years.
A lot of Liverpool's performance is dependent on how they themselves are prepared for the match. Will they be able to deal with Kane and Lucas Moura getting forward as strikers? Can the center back pairing of van Dijk and Gomez track Christian Eriksen and as he makes runs forward through the midfield. Will the full backs have the capability to cover themselves defensively against this Tottenham side? A huge reason that Spurs played so well in their now-famous second half against United was the exploitation of gaps both between the defense and midfield (near the start of the penalty box) and behind full backs to the wide areas of center backs. Liverpool's back four will need to be ready for that because Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose (or Ben Davies, perhaps) have ability to run the flanks and get behind Liverpool's own full backs if they do not track back quickly enough.
Tying very closely into this is the ability of Eriksen and Kane to drop into these channels behind full backs. It's a staple of Spurs attack to look for these areas and they can do it against a back five (against United) or a back four (as they did on occasion against Watford). That is the key I'm marking out in the match, because if the Liverpool defense can stay organized and be vigilant in tracking back, it makes the Tottenham job much harder for them to break down a defense that does not allow them to float into these areas. They can attack directly too, that is the beauty of them having players like Kane, Moura, and Son when he returns, all three have very good pace and can attach onto long-balls from the defenders in the Spurs back line. That is not exactly a special tactic, though, and Liverpool have dealt with teams going the more direct route. I am more confident in a Liverpool victory if Tottenham resort to going for long-balls with Gomez on Kane and van Dijk marking Moura, or vice versa, because the pairing of them have been immense in the air and both have enough speed to put them off the pace if Spurs do take that route. I think the 'plan A' for the home side will be key if they are to pull out a victory.
Liverpool's attack will, most likely, be facing another back three. While they have not faced one yet this season, last season they took them apart with ease. Spurs have indeed played with a back four this season, but I think they will be confident that a back three can hold Liverpool just as theirs did in this fixture last season. A lot of what Liverpool will likely attempt to do is a carbon copy of what Spurs want to do, and what PSG will surely want to do on Tuesday at Anfield, and that's exploit the channels behind the pushing full backs. Salah has the speed and strength to get in behind Danny Rose and take on Jan Vertonghen, but neither of those men are pushovers and it will be tough for him to continue to take them on regularly. We could also see Tottenham play Salah more physically as many teams have and push him closer centrally.
A difference is that while the midfield of Tottenham is key in drifting in these central areas or pushing forward, Liverpool's midfield will be vital in the distribution. Naby Keita will likely make runs forward, and yes James Milner will almost surely drop into positions either deeper on the wing as a false wing back or forward on the wing, but both of them will be vital (assuming they both get starts) in finding the available channels in the Tottenham defense. This is a game, to me, that screams Jordan Henderson over Gini Wijnaldum. Henderson's vision in terms of reading the game and making passes will be huge in trying to find gaps in Tottenham and he then has the passing ability to open up play for his side. Additionally, I prefer what he offers in defense over Wijnaldum in this particular match in terms of a bit more solidarity. I thought also that perhaps we could see Fabinho in the squad here, that could happen, but I'm not too sure and think he could see his first action against PSG.
Substitutions and depth are a final key point to look at. I have a confession about my team projections. While a bit confident, I really am not massively confident in my predictions for either side's starting eleven. Neither of these sides has a full-blown set first-choice eleven. Liverpool are set to their 4-3-3 generally, but Tottenham can shift formations a fair bit as well. In terms of depth, Tottenham have Eric Dier, Mousa Dembele, Harry Winks, and Victor Wanyama all who can do a strong job as a more defensive midfielder. Pochettino also has his choice of left back with Ben Davies or Danny Rose, and can sub on Fernando Llorente late in the match to change the look of his attack. Liverpool, meanwhile, have their own pick of the litter in defensive mid with Henderson, Wijnaldum, and Fabinho all of top quality. Off the bench in attack for Klopp is Daniel Sturridge and Xherdan Shaqiri which keeps things fairly similar in the look and feel of the attack, but both men with fresh legs can be very dangerous. Neither side likes using early subs (Spurs have made just two subs before the 70 minute mark this season, Liverpool just three) so in the later stages of the matches be sure to watch both managers' chess moves in the match.
Final Thoughts:
This kicks off the sort of stretch running to the next international break that Liverpool fans have dreamed of. Six high-profile opponents in three different competitions. A win here is huge as Chelsea is still keeping pace with Liverpool, and yes, Watford too is still holding up in the race. A win here also boosts confidence before the opening Champions League group stage match with PSG and sets them up nicely for their next league bout with Southampton at home.
Score Prediction: Liverpool 2: Tottenham 1:
I feel oddly confident about this match. I like what I've seen from Tottenham, but I think the Liverpool strengths really correspond nicely to what they can exploit in this Tottenham side. It's really a toss-up match though, and I could see either side winning, or a tough fought draw. But for now, I'm cautiously confident and I'll take Liverpool to get all three points out of Wembley.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for more LFC coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
Team News:
The main news coming out of the Liverpool team is that Dejan Lovren's injury is still a hindrance and he will be lucky to play before the next international break, and figures to be out of action until at least October. It's been sort of a mystery injury for Lovren, the timeline of it starting with his return from the World Cup where Jurgen Klopp described it as "serious, but not too serious." The word is a stomach muscle injury stemming from Lovren playing through pain at the World Cup, and the fears preseason that it may have been worse than the club initially let on seem to be at least a touch true. With fixtures coming in rapidly for Liverpool, including the start of Champions League and Chelsea in the league and in the league cup on the horizon, Liverpool are staring down that fixture list with three fit first-choice center-backs. With Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool's August player of the month, having played 180 minutes of football on the international break as well, and Joe Gomez having a full match with England under his belt, the mileage on the center backs early on in this season will be fairly high and the hopes from fans of any of the three avoiding an injury are even higher.
Aside from Lovren, Liverpool have been lucky to avoid any major injury concerns over this international break. That does not mean, however, that the break was without incident. Adam Lallana was selected to the English national side for the break, but was sent home with a knock. Fortunately for Liverpool, it was simply a minor injury and the sending home was more precautionary than anything. Lallana took to social media to confirm he would be fit for the upcoming month of fixtures with Liverpool. Perhaps he may miss out on the squad against Tottenham, but having been at Melwood with the squad training and recovering for about a week-and-a-half and has been spotted in full training with the boys in red, so I expect no further concerns for him with this minor setback.
Likewise, Simon Mignolet was pulled from the Belgium squad with concerns over a finger injury. Similar to Lallana, though, concerns are not great and like him, I imagine he is available for the squad. On the other hand, young keeper Caoimhin Kelleher will miss out for at least a month with a calf injury after a training collision with Divock Origi. With Mignolet and Lallana both being back in training, though, it was close to a clean international break for Liverpool and the side will feel good about its collective fitness.
Tottenham's fitness is just a bit more complicated as two key men have been confirmed to be missing out on Saturday's match.. First is star midfield man Dele Alli, who missed out against England's match with Switzerland, and was thought to likely be cleared, but is not back to match fitness yet. It's a big blow for Spurs who will have to go without a key piece of the way they play. The other first-team miss is keeper and club captain Hugo Lloris. The Frenchman, who was just found guilty for drunk driving and handed a 50,000 pound fine and banned from driving for 20 months, is dealing with a muscle injury and will miss out on his second league match in a row. In his place would be surely be Michel Vorm, who also started in place of Lloris in the match against Watford before the international break. Third keeper, Paulo Gazzaniga, will be the man to make the bench.
Elsewhere, it's a bit chaotic around the ground for Spurs as Erik Lamela is back in training after suffering a preseason injury that's held him back from full fitness. He's been ready to go for a while, making a cameo in their 3-1 August victory over Fulham, and could play a part in the match. Moussa Sissoko, on the other hand, fresh off transfer speculation, is working himself back from a recent injury as well and will be back in training for Spurs next week. Finally is news that Spurs fans greatly appreciate, and that will be the return of Son Heung-min. Heung-min's South Korean side won the Asian Games that occurred over the past couple of weeks, which he missed Spurs' first fixtures of the seasons for, and with that victory he became exempt from military service for his country. It is huge for the Korean star, whose career likely would never have been the same if military service was needed since he would have been ineligible to play for the top military sides in Korea while serving. Still, after a busy summer of international fixtures including both the games, recent friendlies, and the World Cup, I would not think Son is a candidate to start for Mauricio Pochettino.
Projected Liverpool Line-Up: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Milner, Keita; Salah, Firmino, Mane
Projected Tottenham Line-Up: Vorm; Alderweireld, Davinson, Vertonghen; Trippier, Dier, Dembele, Rose; Eriksen; Moura, Kane
Previewing the Match:
Tottenham had been flying through the early matches of the season, perhaps even in more dominating fashion than Liverpool. The 3-0 victory at Old Trafford over Manchester United was talk of the footballing world for a full week, perhaps even longer as it's been the result of the season thus far. That was followed up, however, with a 2-1 loss to surprise side Watford sending them into international break with a sour taste in their mouth. They will hope to write that wrong and set themselves back on the winning track against Liverpool, who will hope to continue a perfect 4-0-0 start to the season. The two teams have developed a little bit of a rivalry after the heated match at Anfield that ended 2-2 after two controversial Spurs penalties, one saved, one converted, and perhaps Mo Salah's finest goal of the season. Combined with Salah's Golden Boot race with Harry Kane, and it should be a fun meeting between two of England's top sides over the past couple of years.
A lot of Liverpool's performance is dependent on how they themselves are prepared for the match. Will they be able to deal with Kane and Lucas Moura getting forward as strikers? Can the center back pairing of van Dijk and Gomez track Christian Eriksen and as he makes runs forward through the midfield. Will the full backs have the capability to cover themselves defensively against this Tottenham side? A huge reason that Spurs played so well in their now-famous second half against United was the exploitation of gaps both between the defense and midfield (near the start of the penalty box) and behind full backs to the wide areas of center backs. Liverpool's back four will need to be ready for that because Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose (or Ben Davies, perhaps) have ability to run the flanks and get behind Liverpool's own full backs if they do not track back quickly enough.
Tying very closely into this is the ability of Eriksen and Kane to drop into these channels behind full backs. It's a staple of Spurs attack to look for these areas and they can do it against a back five (against United) or a back four (as they did on occasion against Watford). That is the key I'm marking out in the match, because if the Liverpool defense can stay organized and be vigilant in tracking back, it makes the Tottenham job much harder for them to break down a defense that does not allow them to float into these areas. They can attack directly too, that is the beauty of them having players like Kane, Moura, and Son when he returns, all three have very good pace and can attach onto long-balls from the defenders in the Spurs back line. That is not exactly a special tactic, though, and Liverpool have dealt with teams going the more direct route. I am more confident in a Liverpool victory if Tottenham resort to going for long-balls with Gomez on Kane and van Dijk marking Moura, or vice versa, because the pairing of them have been immense in the air and both have enough speed to put them off the pace if Spurs do take that route. I think the 'plan A' for the home side will be key if they are to pull out a victory.
Liverpool's attack will, most likely, be facing another back three. While they have not faced one yet this season, last season they took them apart with ease. Spurs have indeed played with a back four this season, but I think they will be confident that a back three can hold Liverpool just as theirs did in this fixture last season. A lot of what Liverpool will likely attempt to do is a carbon copy of what Spurs want to do, and what PSG will surely want to do on Tuesday at Anfield, and that's exploit the channels behind the pushing full backs. Salah has the speed and strength to get in behind Danny Rose and take on Jan Vertonghen, but neither of those men are pushovers and it will be tough for him to continue to take them on regularly. We could also see Tottenham play Salah more physically as many teams have and push him closer centrally.
A difference is that while the midfield of Tottenham is key in drifting in these central areas or pushing forward, Liverpool's midfield will be vital in the distribution. Naby Keita will likely make runs forward, and yes James Milner will almost surely drop into positions either deeper on the wing as a false wing back or forward on the wing, but both of them will be vital (assuming they both get starts) in finding the available channels in the Tottenham defense. This is a game, to me, that screams Jordan Henderson over Gini Wijnaldum. Henderson's vision in terms of reading the game and making passes will be huge in trying to find gaps in Tottenham and he then has the passing ability to open up play for his side. Additionally, I prefer what he offers in defense over Wijnaldum in this particular match in terms of a bit more solidarity. I thought also that perhaps we could see Fabinho in the squad here, that could happen, but I'm not too sure and think he could see his first action against PSG.
Substitutions and depth are a final key point to look at. I have a confession about my team projections. While a bit confident, I really am not massively confident in my predictions for either side's starting eleven. Neither of these sides has a full-blown set first-choice eleven. Liverpool are set to their 4-3-3 generally, but Tottenham can shift formations a fair bit as well. In terms of depth, Tottenham have Eric Dier, Mousa Dembele, Harry Winks, and Victor Wanyama all who can do a strong job as a more defensive midfielder. Pochettino also has his choice of left back with Ben Davies or Danny Rose, and can sub on Fernando Llorente late in the match to change the look of his attack. Liverpool, meanwhile, have their own pick of the litter in defensive mid with Henderson, Wijnaldum, and Fabinho all of top quality. Off the bench in attack for Klopp is Daniel Sturridge and Xherdan Shaqiri which keeps things fairly similar in the look and feel of the attack, but both men with fresh legs can be very dangerous. Neither side likes using early subs (Spurs have made just two subs before the 70 minute mark this season, Liverpool just three) so in the later stages of the matches be sure to watch both managers' chess moves in the match.
Final Thoughts:
This kicks off the sort of stretch running to the next international break that Liverpool fans have dreamed of. Six high-profile opponents in three different competitions. A win here is huge as Chelsea is still keeping pace with Liverpool, and yes, Watford too is still holding up in the race. A win here also boosts confidence before the opening Champions League group stage match with PSG and sets them up nicely for their next league bout with Southampton at home.
Score Prediction: Liverpool 2: Tottenham 1:
I feel oddly confident about this match. I like what I've seen from Tottenham, but I think the Liverpool strengths really correspond nicely to what they can exploit in this Tottenham side. It's really a toss-up match though, and I could see either side winning, or a tough fought draw. But for now, I'm cautiously confident and I'll take Liverpool to get all three points out of Wembley.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for more LFC coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
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