Tottenham vs Liverpool Preview and Betting Tip
Tottenham vs Liverpool Preview
Covid has so far claimed six of this weekend’s ten Premier League fixtures. Three of Sunday’s games have survived and the big match of the day is Tottenham vs Liverpool. The hosts have had Covid issues and they are returning from an enforced two week break. Liverpool also reported three positive tests prior to their win vs Newcastle on Thursday.
The oddsmakers have chalked up the hosts as the underdogs at 5/1. In form Liverpool are odds on at 4/7 and the draw can be backed at 18/5. Can Conte conjure up an unlikely home win? Or will Klopp’s Reds continue their relentless winning run? Check out the TXMarkets’ preview and betting tip below.
Tottenham
Spurs’ last Premier League defeat was a 3-0 reversal on the eve of Halloween at home vs Man Utd. Nuno Espirito Santo was in the dugout that day for the final time and now, Antonio Conte is in charge. Since taking over he has more than steadied the ship. Tottenham are unbeaten in the EPL under the Italian. They have won three from four and they have kept three clean sheets. They are now 7th with 25 points and if they win their three games in hand, they’ll only be three points behind Chelsea and in the Top 4.
Due to a raft of positive Covid tests, Conte’s side have had a two week break since their 3-0 win vs Norwich. That has to be viewed as a big plus, if the virus hasn’t had too much of an effect on the players. Emerson, Lucas Moura, Skipp and Son all tested positive and it will be interesting to see how many of them are fit to start. Harry Kane hasn’t tested positive, even if he has been playing as though his energy levels have been badly depleted by something.
Spurs’ chances in this match rest on what sort of team Conte is able to play. If he can start with the team that played in their last three wins, then they could nick something from this match. However, if he has to include some of the players that featured in the dreadful defeat at Mura, it could be a tough afternoon for Tottenham fans.
Liverpool
It has been more solid than spectacular from Liverpool the last couple of weeks. Back to back narrow 1-0 wins vs Villa and Wolves were followed by a 3-1 win vs Newcastle on Thursday night. They deserved to beat The Magpies but Eddie Howe’s side had their moments and they were right in the game up until Trent Alexander Arnold’s late thunderbolt. That was Liverpool’s sixth EPL win in a row. They remain right on Man City’s coat tails, just a point behind them in 2nd.
In that Newcastle game Liverpool fell behind early but they dominated for the rest of the first half. They weren’t as good after the break though. It looked like their hectic schedule may have been taking a toll. Before kick off it was announced that Van Dijk and Fabinho (and Jones) had tested positive for Covid and they’ll all be missing again today. Ibrahima Konate proved to be a seamless replacement for the Dutch defender but Fabinho is a harder man to replace.
He is the glue that holds the Liverpool midfield together defensively and neither Henderson or Thiago have his natural knack for sniffing out danger. They are more vulnerable at the back when he is missing but usually, they score enough goals to compensate. Have Spurs got the weapons to take advantage of his absence? Maybe, but with Salah, Jota, Firmino and Mane all available, The Reds will fancy their chances of getting on the scoresheet themselves.
Tottenham vs Liverpool Possible Lineups
Tottenham: Lloris, Emerson, Sanchez, Davies, Dier, Reguilon, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Lucas, Son, Kane.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Matip, Robertson, Thiago, Henderson, Keita, Mane, Jota, Salah.
Tottenham vs Liverpool Betting Tip
From a betting perspective, the value surely has to lie with Spurs here. Conte will have no qualms about sitting in deep and soaking up pressure and they have the pace in Son and Lucas to get in behind Liverpool’s high line (if they are available for selection). In addition, this will be Liverpool’s fourth match in twelve days and it looked as though they got tired in the second half vs Newcastle.
Tottenham, on the other hand, come into the match on the back of a two week break. Conte has had plenty of time to drill his ideas into his players on the training pitch and they will be extremely well prepared tactically for this match. As we saw in Liverpool’s 1-0 win vs Villa, it is possible to frustrate them with a low block and that is Conte’s speciality. Liverpool deserve to be odds on but this could be a tricky game for them. In an ideal world, I’d wait to see the team sheets before having a bet. However, there are still enough reasons to justify a small wager on Spurs at 5/1.
