Liverpool host relegation-threatened Tottenham as both sides face Sunday pressure at Anfield
Anfield on a Sunday afternoon should be a welcome sight for any team with ambitions. For Tottenham, it feels more like a punishment.
Spurs arrive on Merseyside sitting 16th in the Premier League, a single point above the relegation zone, and winless in their last six across all competitions. That run includes a 5-2 battering by Atletico Madrid in midweek. Liverpool, sixth on 48 points, need the win almost as badly. Two defeats in their last three games, including a 1-0 loss to Galatasaray in the Champions League first leg, have left them scrambling for a top-four place.
Tottenham’s crisis deepens
It is hard to know where to start with Tottenham’s problems. Interim manager Igor Tudor has won none of his matches in charge. The injury list reads like a squad sheet: Destiny Udogie and Ben Davies are both injured and out, while Micky van de Ven is suspended. Cristian Romero and Joao Palhinha were also ruled out after a head clash in the Atletico defeat. Tudor will be forced into a back three of Pedro Porro, Radu Dragusin, and Danso, with Djed Spence and Archie Gray as wing-backs.
Six consecutive defeats have turned every remaining fixture into a survival mission. Spurs have nine league games left and, at this point, the talk is not about Europe but about staying in the division.
Liverpool’s search for consistency
Arne Slot’s side beat Wolves in the FA Cup to ease some of the pressure, but their league form tells a more complicated story. They sit level on points with Chelsea in fifth and have lost nine games this season, far more than a side with title ambitions should.
Slot may make changes after the Galatasaray disappointment, with Joe Gomez and Milos Kerkez potentially dropping to the bench. Alisson Becker missed the trip to Istanbul with an injury concern, and Slot said after the match that the Brazilian would be assessed for either this fixture or the Champions League second leg.
Hugo Ekitike has scored seven of his last eight goals at Anfield, while Mo Salah remains the obvious danger.
History says goals
Recent meetings between these sides at Anfield have been anything but dull. Last season’s encounter finished 5-1, and the fixture before that ended 4-2. Tottenham finished with nine men in their December meeting in North London. Liverpool won the title in 2024-25 with a 5-1 demolition of Spurs, and there was also a 6-3 scoreline in a previous campaign.
Both sides have seen goals in each of Tottenham’s last five matches, and 20 of Spurs’ 29 league games this season have featured over 2.5 goals. If history is any guide, this will not be a cagey affair.
Kick-off is at 4:30 PM GMT.
