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Liverpool host Tottenham in a gigantic Premier League clash on Wednesday night, as José Mourinho’s team’s title credentials will face the toughest test yet.
José Mourinho’s team has been the pick of the group so far this season, occupying the top of the table after 12 games on goal difference with the Reds breathing down their necks.
Liverpool have not been at their best so far this season, as highlighted in Sunday’s frustrating draw at Fulham, and Jurgen Klopp’s team is still recovering from a series of injuries to key players.
But with Mohamed Salah in top form, a league title to defend and 2,000 fans back at the Kop, a trip to Anfield remains one of the fiercest tests in world football.
Spurs have won just one of their last 26 away league games in Liverpool, but Mourinho has instilled defensive discipline and made the Harry Kane and Son Heung-min partnership work perfectly.
So if Spurs are really to be considered Premier League title contenders, there is no better place to make an emphatic statement.
Before the match, Sportsmail compares the strongest XIs from both sides based on current form and fitness on our upper court.
GOALKEEPER
Alisson (Liverpool): The Brazilian has had a frustrating season so far. He missed two games in October with a shoulder injury and was later ruled out of the Wolves’ visit with a hip problem.
But he returned to Fulham on Sunday and was outstanding, making several key saves to keep Liverpool in the game. There is no denying that it is one of the best plugs in the world. 9/10
Hugo Lloris (Tottenham): Lloris is probably in that band of goalkeepers that is outside the top five in world football because of his ability to make costly mistakes.
José Mourinho called the Frenchman the ‘best goalkeeper in the world’ last weekend, but came after criticism that Lloris was to blame for Crystal Palace’s draw in the tie at Selhurst Park. He’ll be a busy kid at Anfield. 8/10
BACK
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool): Liverpool definitely lost something when the 22-year-old missed four games due to a calf injury. Neco Williams did well, but Alexander-Arnold is so good in both directions.
His defensive play has improved tremendously in the last two seasons, while his attacking play, crosses and set pieces are sublime. 9/10
Serge Aurier (Tottenham): Mourinho has a selection dilemma on the right back. Aurier is playing really well and changing his career at Tottenham, but Matt Doherty was impressive before contracting the coronavirus last month.
Doherty was back on the bench at Crystal Palace, but there’s a chance Mourinho will stick with Aurier, the man whose defense he was scared of last season, to tag Sadio Mane. 8/10
CENTER OF BACK
Joel Matip (Liverpool): Matip has almost always played well in the heart of Liverpool’s defense, but his inability to put together a long string of games since arriving in 2016 due to injury has been his downfall.
The 29-year-old has stayed in shape in recent weeks to ease pressure on Klopp’s defensive crisis and the German hopes Matip will be fit after coming off the break at Fulham. 8/10
Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham): The Belgian is the leader at the heart of Tottenham’s defense and has forged an impressive partnership with Eric Dier so far this season.
Spurs have kept four clean sheets in the eight Premier League games Alderweireld has started and he hopes to lead them to another against Liverpool’s famous three forwards. 9/10
CENTER OF BACK
Fabinho (Liverpool): The Brazilian continues to show his remarkable versatility shining at the heart of Liverpool’s makeshift defense.
Now it seems likely that he will fill a defensive role for the remainder of the season in the absence of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, but he has shown no signs of being out of reach alongside Matip. 8/10
Eric Dier (Tottenham): The England star did not hide the fact that he was no longer interested in playing in midfield. Now Mourinho has reinvented Dier’s game in the middle of defense and it is flourishing.
Composed on the ball, strong in the tackle and organized, Dier is proving to be a defender who could lead a team to a league title. 9/10
LEFT BACK
Andy Robertson (Liverpool): Even after two and a half seasons as Liverpool’s first-choice left-back, is it possible that the Scotsman still doesn’t get the credit he deserves?
His relentless energy to get on and off the field offers Klopp’s team a whole new dimension, while his crossing into the box and his play in attacking areas is remarkable. One of the transfers of the century. 9/10
Sergio Reguilon (Tottenham): The left-back was a position that Mourinho knew he had to strengthen and he went and bought Reguilion, who was excellent with Sevilla last season, from Real Madrid.
The Spaniard is agile, not afraid to set foot, and capable of going both forward and in the opposite direction. He didn’t get a fair chance at the Bernabéu and now they reportedly want him back. 8.5 / 10
MIDFIELD
Jordan Henderson (Liverpool): Liverpool’s three forwards are rightly considered unreachable, as are Virgil van Dijk when fit and Alisson, but Henderson is now in that group.
The Reds wear a different team when they’re not playing. His energy and leadership are contagious and he does the dirty work in midfield that allows others to look good. 9/10
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Tottenham): The Danish midfielder has probably been Mourinho’s best signing at Spurs. He fought Everton in the first game of the season but has since displayed all the attributes that Mourinho loves in a midfielder.
He doesn’t stop running, will fly in tackles and is able to recycle possession when he regains it. It seems like he made the right decision leaving Southampton and it has been very, very good for Tottenham. 8.5 / 10
MIDFIELD
Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool): It seems crazy that the Dutchman can leave Anfield for nothing next summer. He has been at the center of their rise in recent seasons and they surely won’t let him go.
Despite Liverpool’s injury crisis, Wijnaldum is there week after week. He gives everything he has and is an integral part of the way Klopp wants his team to play. 8/10
Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham): Another player who is enjoying a career rejuvenation with Mourinho. You are finally playing on a system that takes full advantage of its tools.
Sissoko is never going to control the flow of a game, but her tenacity and stamina allow her to stop the opposition’s attacks and get the ball towards Harry Kane and company quickly. 7.5 / 10
MIDFIELD
Curtis Jones (Liverpool): Fabinho’s move to defense and injuries to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and Thiago have made Liverpool as short in midfield as they are in defense.
Jones has been the beneficiary of that and has seized his opportunity. The youngster has been excellent entering the first team and will be an option to advance even when the most experienced players are back. 7/10
Tanguy Ndombele (Tottenham): After last season’s disappointment, the Frenchman is slowly improving and looks like a £ 65m signing.
Ndombele has more attack threat than Hojbjerg and Sissoko and can join Kane and company when the Spurs try to fight back. It could be a threat from deep down if Liverpool’s midfield pushes the field too high. 8/10
Ahead
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool): The Egyptian loves to score goals and is now without a doubt one of the best finalists in the world. He has 10 goals in 11 Premier League games this season and continues to drive Liverpool out of the holes.
He scored a sublime double against Spurs in 2018 and has five goals in four games against them. Salah will definitely be the subject of Mourinho’s attention at his pre-match briefing. 9.5 / 10
Steven Bergwijn (Tottenham): The Dutchman has yet to come to life at Spurs since joining almost a year ago, but he is an ideal scapegoat for Kane and Son.
Bergwijn has started the last four league games, but has yet to find the back of the net in any competition this season. You need to start influencing games if you want to keep your place. (7/10)
Ahead
Roberto Firmino (Liverpool): The Brazilian keeps it all together for Liverpool’s three forwards, but has been performing below his usual standards so far this season.
He is by no means a prolific scorer, although that shouldn’t detract from the team’s importance, but Firmino’s play in the area in recent weeks is not what it has been. 8/10
Harry Kane (Tottenham): Aside from Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, Kane is probably the most complete striker in world football. He has adapted his game and is now excellent at putting others into play while remaining clinical in front of goal.
Kane has scored in four games at Anfield and never finished on the winning side (drawing two and losing two), but expects the streak to end Wednesday night. 9.5 / 10
Ahead
Sadio Mane (Liverpool): Perhaps the backlog of games is holding up Mane’s threat in front of goal, but the winger has now not scored in seven Premier League games, which is unheard of for him.
Against Tottenham’s deep defense, he will find it difficult to run into space behind, so he will probably just come up short for the ball. It could be another frustrating evening for him but it would be the ideal time to end his goal drought. 9/10
Son Heung-min (Tottenham): Gary Neville recently described the South Korean as world class and you feel like Son has really taken his game to another level so far this season.
He has 10 goals and four assists in 12 Premier League games this season. His pace and straight running are ideal for Mourinho’s counterattacks and his relationship with Kane is telepathic. Liverpool have a lot to fear. 9/10
TOTAL
Liverpool: 93.5
Tottenham: 92
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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