Following on from their Thursday night exertions in Greece, Spurs return to Premier League action with a potentially difficult home match against a new look Liverpool side. Spurs rested all of their key players meaning that we should not face any of the post-CL fatigue issues that we suffered during parts of last season.
The two sides had contrasting outings last time in the Premier League. A newly balanced Spurs team, shorn of Rafael van der Vaart, played impressively in beating Wolves 2-0 at Molineux, a feat not many other teams will achieve this season. Both debutants were involved in the goals, Parker with an assist and Adebayor with a goal to continue his feat of scoring on his debut for Premier League sides. In contrast, Liverpool suffered a 1-0 away defeat to Stoke, a side Martin Samuel claims are genuine 4th place contenders. Kenny Dalglish defied his dour demeanour to launch an attack on the refereeing decisions during the match but might be wondering to himself how he could have expected to win the game with such profligacy up front.
So how will the two sides fare against each other in an early meeting of two of the sides supposedly battling it out for fourth place? Without a huge amount of early season form to go on, it’s perhaps easier to look at the potential line-ups for the match and see where we think the two sides’ strengths and weaknesses may be…
Goalkeepers:
Friedel appears to have made the Spurs number 1 his own for the time being, with Gomes apparently unhappy about his demotion to the understudy role. Friedel has made some excellent early saves, defying his age at times. The save from Karl Henry low to his right last weekend was a particular highlight. For Liverpool, the consistently excellent Pepe Reina is in goal and with his record of clean sheets in the league, it’s difficult to argue against Liverpool having the stronger of the two keepers on show.
VERDICT: Liverpool edge the keepers
Defence:
Liverpool surprisingly chose not to strengthen their defence significantly during the summer. Carragher and Agger are a decent, if somewhat slow and uninspiring pairing. Many Liverpool fans see Carra as a player in decline, evidenced by the clumsy fashion in which he clambered over Walters for the Stoke penalty last weekend. New left back Enrique has decent potential and Skrtel is a good Premier league squad player. None of them would get into the Spurs defence tomorrow though. King and Kaboul patrolling the centre back roles with Walker and BAE rampaging is a strong defensive unit. BAE is a mainstay of our defence and Walker has shown hints of play that suggest he is close to cementing a regular place in our starting XI. King brings a sense of calm to the Spurs defence that elevates them far past the levels they achieve in his absence. Every Spurs fan will be hoping he passes a late fitness test, and that he has liberally oiled his creaky knees in anticipation of a 90-minute masterclass.
VERDICT: Spurs clear winners in the defence
Midfield:
A very interesting area, very difficult to call. Liverpool have neither supremely attacking nor defensively minded players. Adam had a good season last year with Blackpool but as yet has failed to reproduce that kind of form for the Merseyside club now paying his wages. Parker and Modric should be able to overpower and outplay Adam and Lucas in the centre. Parker was in good form last time out and brings a defensive edge we missed in the first two games with Sandro still injured (everyone remember Niko and Luka in the middle? I’m trying to forget it).
Luka showed some modicum of his old form against Wolves last weekend. Now that the transfer window is well and truly shut, he can concentrate on doing the things that led to many Spurs fans labelling him the best player they’ve seen in a Spurs shirt for many a year. On the wings, Stewart Downing is in excellent form for club and country and needs to be watched whilst Henderson is still finding his feet and shouldn’t cause too many problems playing in an unfamiliar wide right role.
If Bale is put on the left (hear that, Harry, LEFT) wing we should just edge the midfield battle. Rumours are gathering pace that Van der Vaart will make a miracle recovery from his injury, potentially returning 4 weeks ahead of schedule, to further strengthen our midfield options.
VERDICT: Spurs edge the midfield battle with some cunning play backed with Parker steel.
Attack:
Here is where the difference in the teams transfer policy really shows. Liverpool have set about bolstering their forward line with a £55m outlay on Andy Carroll, a young English talent in the old-fashioned number 9 mould, and Luis Suarez, a player deemed too lightweight for Spurs but who has already showed some sublime touches and excellent play early on in his Liverpool career.
Liverpool have also shrewdly brought Bellamy back into the club after he fell out of favour at Man City. Bellamy has genuine pace and on his day is a top, top striker and a threat against which we need to pay careful attention, particularly if he is used as an impact sub late on in the game.
Spurs on the other hand have only the 1-year loan signing of Adebayor to bolster a forward line short of form and goals. Ade is in possession of genuine quality but there’s always a nagging doubt about his ability to display this consistently. Defoe may continue his form into this game although if Van der Vaart is fit, I can see Harry playing our top scorer from last season behind Adebayor, a 4-4-1-1 system that has potential, though sometimes leaves us lacking the ability to press against slower defences. Past that we lack any real strength in depth with our third choice striker, Pavulychenko, turning in a very poor performance in PAOK match.
VERDICT: Liverpool take the striking gong.
A closing thought. Spurs fans should console themselves with the knowledge that it’s 3 years since Liverpool finished above us and despite consistently outspending us over the past 2 years, they have failed to gel sufficiently well to displace a strong Spurs side. There is no longer an expectation of struggling to get a result against England’s second most successful domestic side. We simply don’t fear them anymore. They’re our competition; they’re part of the peer group of clubs within which we now operate. We can, and I think will, win this game and then we will really be off and running this season. My prediction 3-1
COYS
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