Tottenham vs. Liverpool
Venue: White Hart Lane
Kick off: 12:30pm
Arguably the Premier League game of the weekend will take place at White Hart Lane on Saturday (today) as Tottenham Hotspur welcome Liverpool in the early kickoff.
Spurs have collected four points from their two league matches this term, while Liverpool have three after following a 4-3 victory at Arsenal with a 2-0 defeat at newly-promoted Burnley last weekend.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side opened their league season with a 1-1 draw at Everton after an Erik Lamela header cancelled out an early free kick from Ross Barkley. It was a solid start to the new campaign, but their first victory arrived last weekend as summer signing Victor Wanyama scored the winner in a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Somewhat surprisingly, victory for Tottenham against Liverpool would give the capital side their best start to a league season since the 2009-10 campaign, when they won their opening four league matches.
In what looks set to be a bitter challenge for the Champions League positions, every dropped point at this stage could prove crucial.
With no European football at Anfield this season, many are predicting Liverpool to enjoy a successful Premier League campaign.
Indeed, Jurgen Klopp has now had a full summer to bring in his own players and there have been signs of positivity in the early weeks of the season – winning two of their three games in all competitions.
The Merseyside outfit opened their league season with an impressive 4-3 victory at Arsenal on the opening weekend and travelled to Burnley last weekend looking to make it six points from a possible six.
It was supposed to be a banker for the Reds, who had 80 per cent of the possession and dominated the contest for long spells.
The scoreline did not reflect their superiority, however, as goals from Sam Vokes and Andre Gray secured a 2-0 victory for the home team.
Liverpool’s away record during the 2015-16 Premier League was pretty mixed – winning eight of their 19 matches, drawing four and suffering seven defeats.
This will actually be their fourth straight away fixture this season as they wait for the expansion work on their new main stand at Anfield to be completed.
The Reds have also only kept two clean sheets in their last 13 top-flight games, conceding 19 times in the process.
Klopp has put together a team that will always score goals, but there are still big question marks over their ability to shut teams out and it will be interesting to see whether defensive reinforcements arrive before the end of the transfer window.
Tottenham possible starting lineup: Vorm, Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose, Wanyama, Dier, Lamela, Alli, Eriksen, Kane.
Liverpool possible starting lineup: Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren, Klavan, Milner, Lallana, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Sturridge, Firmino, Coutinho.