Jurgen Klopp takes his new side to White Hart Lane for a challenging first assignment as Liverpool boss, with Spurs able to move as high as second with a win in the lunchtime kick-off.
Tottenham are missing some key players through injury, with Ryan Mason, Son Heung-Min and Nabil Bentaleb all ruled out, whilst Eric Dier won’t feature as he is suspended; the England Under-21 international has already picked up five yellow cards this season.
Spurs have the joint-best defensive record in the Premier League this season, but have conceded a flurry of goals in recent games against Liverpool; the Reds have won the last five meetings between these two sides, and walked away from their last two visits to North London with 5-0 and 3-0 victories.
Klopp has some injury woes of his own to contend with, as Danny Ings and Joe Gomez have both been ruled out for the season after picking up cruciate ligament injuries.
Christian Benteke and Roberto Firmino will also miss out this weekend, increasing the pressure on the fit-again Philippe Coutinho to provide a creative spark.
Liverpool’s new boss has called for “more bravery” from his side, who drew five of their last six games in all competitions under Brendan Rodgers; a win at White Hart Lane would be a statement of intent from the Reds as the Klopp era gets underway.
League Position: Tottenham – 8th, 13 points; Liverpool – 10th, 12 points
Last Meeting: Liverpool 3-2 Tottenham (February 10, 2015)
Form: Tottenham – DDWWWD; Liverpool – DLLDWD
Key Men: Tottenham – Christian Eriksen; Liverpool – Philippe Coutinho
Shoot Says: Tottenham 2-2 Liverpool