Before locking horns in the EFL Cup semi-finals, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool collide in the pick of this weekend's Premier League ties in North London on Sunday afternoon.
Ange Postecoglou's team came up trumps in a 4-3 spectacular with Manchester United in midweek, while the league-leading Reds were 2-1 victors at Southampton to keep their quadruple hopes alive.
Match preview
© Imago
As Spurs boss Postecoglou went to embrace Ruben Amorim on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium touchline on Thursday, the knowing smile on the Australian's face said it all; he had just witnessed his side survive more than one monumental scare to move just two games away from Wembley.
A pair of calamities from Fraser Forster gifted Man United a route back into Thursday's semi-final after Tottenham raced into a 3-0 lead, but the Englishman's opposite number Altay Bayindir was not covering himself in glory either, and a Son Heung-min corner which flew straight into the back of the net ended up proving decisive.
Postecoglou - who also cut a pleasantly humorous demeanour in his post-match interview - will soon end Spurs' 17-year streak without a trophy if his second-season silverware comments are to ring true, and Tottenham's gripping semi-final win came after they hit Southampton for five last time out in the Premier League.
Spurs hammered the final nail into Russell Martin's St Mary's coffin by scoring five goals in the first half of a Premier League game for the first time ever, but they still lie smack-bang in the middle of the top-flight table, five points below the coveted Champions League places.
After snapping a miserable four-game winless run across all competitions on home soil, next on the agenda for a resurrected Tottenham outfit is avoiding a four-match winless sequence in Premier League home games, which they have not suffered since their days at White Hart Lane in 2013.
© Imago
Sunday's hosts may have slayed Southampton in just 45 minutes during last weekend's Premier League affair, but Arne Slot's Liverpool made harder work of seeing off the division's basement boys in cup action in midweek, prevailing by just the one goal rather than five.
Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott's first-half efforts ultimately proved telling, making Cameron Archer's fine strike inconsequential as Liverpool moved to within 270 minutes of defending their EFL Cup crown, one of four honours they are still in contention to win.
Now unbeaten in a terrific 20 matches in all competitions, the Reds remain at the top of the Premier League pile heading into the weekend, but their lead is no longer insurmountable; Chelsea have closed the gap to two points thanks to Liverpool's successive draws with Newcastle United and Fulham.
Rescuing a 2-2 draw against the Cottagers after losing Andy Robertson to a first-half red card was a noble feat, though, and not a single side has managed to conquer Slot's Liverpool as the home team this season; unsurprisingly, they are the only Premier League outfit with their unbeaten away record still intact this term.
Furthermore, only two of Liverpool's last 23 Premier League battles with Tottenham have seen the Reds lose, although one of those came at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last season, where the infamous "significant human error" and late Joel Matip own goal triggered their downfall.
Team News
© Imago
Tottenham continue to deal with a ravaged defence in the festive period, as none of Ben Davies (hamstring), Cristian Romero (thigh), Micky van de Ven (hamstring) or Guglielmo Vicario (ankle) will be available for this encounter, and nor will Wilson Odobert (hamstring), Richarlison (hamstring) or the banned Rodrigo Bentancur.
Left-wing duo Mikey Moore and Timo Werner will also require late fitness tests as they battle respective illnesses, but Destiny Udogie - who came off early in the Southampton game - only missed the EFL Cup win on account of being "a bit sore" and should be fine to square up to Mohamed Salah on Sunday.
Udogie for Djed Spence ought to be the only alteration that Postecoglou considers for this colossal contest, where skipper Son needs only set up one goal to set a new club record for Premier League assists, having matched Darren Anderton's tally of 68 last weekend.
Liverpool's only selection concerns for Sunday's game also come at the back, albeit to a lesser degree, as Conor Bradley (hamstring) and Ibrahima Konate (knee) are expected to be the visitors' only injury absentees this weekend.
Robertson is eligible to play again after serving his suspension in the EFL Cup, but with the Scotsman a shadow of his former self this season and Kostas Tsimikas now back from an ankle problem, it would not be a shock to see the Greek given the nod.
After enjoying a total rest in midweek, Salah could write another page of Premier League history; the Egypt international has already come up with 13 goals and nine assists in the 2024-25 Premier League, and he could be the first-ever player to hit double figures in both metrics before Christmas in one season.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Forster; Porro, Gray, Dragusin, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Solanke
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Jota
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Liverpool
Each of Tottenham's last seven contests at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has seen both teams score, and that trend should not cease in Sunday's mouthwatering clash, as Liverpool are looking more defensively frail on the road than they previously were.
However, the Reds are working with an extra day's rest, were able to leave out some of their star names in midweek and face a Tottenham side still missing some of their key defensive cogs. In short, the Slot machine should continue to whirr as Liverpool spend Christmas Day at the summit.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
