Tottenham v Liverpool: Champions League hopefuls hard to split

Dave Tindall
25 August 2016

Mauricio Pochettino will be wary of Liverpool and may have to settle for a point

Mauricio Pochettino hasn't got Spurs up to full power yet and may have to settle for a point

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Dave Tindall is backing Spurs and Liverpool to share the points in Saturday lunchtime's Premier League showdown at White Hart Lane...

"Given that both managers demand eyeballs out effort and high pressing, there’s an argument for suggesting the two could cancel each other out again in which case the draw, as the biggest of the three outcomes, makes appeal."

Back the Draw at 3.55

Tottenham v Liverpool
Saturday August 27, 12:30
Live on Sky Sports 1

Tottenham

Four points from an away trip to Everton (1-1) and a home game against Crystal Palace (1-0) represents a solid enough start for last season's title contenders.

Victor Wanyama was brought in to add midfield mettle so his winner against Palace was a welcome and unexpected bonus while fellow summer signing Vincent Janssen has also taken the eye with his industry and effort. "The supporters see he is a fighter," said boss Mauricio Pochettino after the derby win.

That said, Janssen fluffed a one-one-one against Palace and still looks anxious in front of goal. It took the 22-year-old Dutchman seven games to get off the mark when joining AZ Alkmaar last season so perhaps he's still finding his feet on that front.

Since conceding to Ross Barkley in the fifth minute of their opener against Everton, the Tottenham defence hasn't been breached and it's an obvious strength.

The midfield shield of Wanyama and Eric Dier is one of the chief reasons why and I suspect Liverpool's back four would happily have that duo playing in front of them.

Further forward, Harry Kane is starting the season slowly again (he's never scored a goal in the month of August) and it's worth noting that Spurs won the fewest home games (10) of last season's top six so they can rather huff and puff at White Hart Lane.

Pochettino will be well aware of Liverpool's forward threat so don't expect Spurs to adopt a gung ho approach.

Liverpool

With away wins at Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal since Jurgen Klopp took over, the Reds appear to be far more attractive as a betting proposition in games like this rather than the ones they're expected to win.

The thrilling 4-3 victory against the Gunners and oh-so-predictable follow-up 2-0 reverse at Burnley further fuelled the stereotype.

A 5-0 win at Burton in midweek was a collective confidence booster, especially for the frontmen with Daniel Sturridge (2), Divock Origi and Roberto Firmino all getting on the scoresheet.

Sadio Mane makes an already dangerous counter-attacking team even more threatening on the break and, on the evidence so far, Liverpool look to have found a gem who is ideally suited to Klopp's philosophy.

There are holes though. Klopp can't find a reliable central midfield partnership and is compromising the assets of Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana by playing them there.

The one natural for the role, Emre Can, is struggling for fitness.

Even beings from undiscovered planets are aware of Alberto Moreno's shortcomings and, although he isn't a long-term solution, stand-in left-back James Milner will give Liverpool a more solid feel. Especially in a fixture like this where Moreno going walkabout would open the door to full-back Kyle Walker's right-wing raids.

Match Odds

Spurs are 2.526/4 favourites to bank all three points, with Liverpool 3.1511/5 and The Draw trading at 3.55.

This has been a troublesome fixture for Spurs in recent seasons with the Luis Suarez-inspired Reds running amok in December 2013 (5-0) while, even with the Uruguayan maestro gone, the Reds won 3-0 at White Hart Lane in August 2014.

Pochettino's arrival has balanced things up and last season the duo played out a 0-0 in north London and a 1-1 on Merseyside. The former was Klopp's first game in charge while the latter put an early dent in Tottenham's eventually doomed title bid.

Given that both managers demand eyeballs out effort and high pressing, there's an argument for suggesting the two could cancel each other out again in which case the draw, as the biggest of the three outcomes, makes appeal.

Over/Under 2.5 Goals

The Opta stats focus heavily on goals. For example, Liverpool have scored 19 goals in their last seven games against Spurs, only three other fixtures have produced more goals than this one since the start of the Premier League (136) while the Reds have scored more goals (45) than anyone else in 2016.

And yet there is no mention of last year's results when Unders would have collected both times. And surely they are the most relevant given that both were Klopp v Pochettino.

Unders is the clear underdog here with Under 2.5 trading at 2.1411/10 and that looks a play. Sure, Liverpool smack of a team that will score plenty but concede lots too but the dynamics of this match suggest a hard-fought contest where clear-cut chances may not be sprinkled liberally in the way they were in Liverpool's 4-3 win at Arsenal.

In fact, take out that result and, between them, Spurs and Liverpool have played out three Unders matches out of four (Spurs 1-1 and 1-0, Liverpool 0-2). With Spurs' strikeforce firing blanks so far, confidence increases further.

Ref Watch

Despite sounding like an end-of-pier variety act, Bobby Madley's career is very much on the up. The 30-year-old from Wakefield showed just three yellows in Man City's opening 2-1 win over Sunderland and reached for his pocket only once in the Championship play-off final between Hull and Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley.

Liverpool have won all three matches when Madley has been in charge, including the 6-1 Cup romp at Southampton last season.

Recommended Bets
Back the Draw @ 3.55
Back Under 2.5 Goals @ 2.1411/10