All eyes on White Hart Lane this Saturday as Jürgen Klopp takes charge of his first game as Liverpool boss. The charismatic German has taken all the headlines since replacing Brendan Rodgers as manager of the Merseyside club. Klopp will be looking to hit the ground running with his new club against a side that Liverpool have won their last five meetings with. However, Pochettino and his men will be looking to spoil Klopp and Liverpool’s party. The home side will want to take the shine off Klopp’s appointment as they seek to get back to winning ways after their draw with Swansea.
Tottenham haven’t lost in the league since Kyle Walker’s OG on the opening day handed Man United all three points. White Hart Lane is not an easy venue to visit and it could prove to be a baptism of fire for Klopp in his first Premier League outing. Considering that the last time they played at home, Spurs dismantled the champions elect, Man City, in a 4-1 hammering. All the talk will be about Klopp and his selection, it will be interesting to see what he does with the players that Rodgers had at his disposal. Meanwhile, Spurs will be looking to take advantage of the attention on Klopp by picking up three points against his new side. Either way it should make for excellent viewing this Saturday at White Hart Lane.
Team News
Pochettino will not be able to use his big money summer signing for several weeks. Since joining from Leverkusen Son has wasted little time endearing himself to the Spurs faithful but he is now going to miss three weeks of action through injury. Midfield duo Ryan Mason and Bentaleb are still a week away from returning, the two academy graduates will be keen to reclaim their starting spots in midfield. Danny Rose is scheduled as two days away from a return to the sider so he may make the squad for Saturday. However, Ben Davies has impressed in Rose’s place and may prove hard to displace from the full back spot.
The biggest issue Jürgen Klopp has heading into his first game in charge of Liverpool is the unfortunate injuries to Joe Gomez and Danny Ings. Young Gomez had impressed with his appearances signing from Charlton in the summer, and Ings had found decent goal scoring form of late and even earning his first England cap. However, both have now been ruled out for the season with devastating cruciate injuries. The German will also be without his club captain, Jordan Henderson, he is a further five weeks away from a return to the side. The club’s big money summer signing’s, Christian Benteke and Roberto Firmino, look like they both won’t be in Klopp’s first match day squad as they are reportedly a week away from a return. Defender Dejan Lovren and talisman Phillipe Coutinho should be able to make the squad on Saturday after returning from injuries.
Statistics
- Liverpool have only won 1 of their last 9 away games.
- Gerard Houllier is the only Liverpool manager to win his first Premier League match in charge of the club.
- Liverpool have won their last 5 meetings against Spurs.
- In the history of the fixture neither side has managed 6 wins in a row.
- Last time the two met at White Hart Lane Liverpool ran out 3-0 winners in August of last season.
- November 2012 was the last time Tottenham beat Liverpool. They won 2-1 that day at White Hart Lane.
- The first fixture between the two sides was in the 1909/10 season. Liverpool won 2-0 at home that day.
- The first Premier League match between the two was played at White Hart Lane on October 31st 1992. Tottenham won 2-0.
Comparisons
Top Scorer 2014/15
Tottenham: Harry Kane (21), Nacer Chadli (11), Christian Eriksen (10)
Liverpool: Steven Gerrard (9), Raheem Sterling (7), Jordan Henderson (6)
Chances Created 2014/15
Tottenham: Christian Eriksen (83), Erik Lamela (60), Nacer Chadli (41)
Liverpool: Raheem Sterling (75), Jordan Henderson (66), Phillipe Coutinho (58)
Avg. Defensive Actions
Tottenham: Federico Fazio (13), Younes Kaboul (11), Jan Vertonghen (10)
Liverpool: Martin Skrtel (13), Dejan Lovren (10), Mamadou Sakho (8)
Key Men
Tottenham: Christian Eriksen
After missing three games with injury, Christian Eriksen has returned to the Spurs side and took up his place as key man with ease. Harry Kane’s lack of goals this term is a worry for Tottenham, but perhaps their biggest worry should be how much more ordinary they looked without Eriksen in the side. The Danish playmaker takes care of the majority of the set-pieces and is the link between the midfield and attack. His ability to move with the ball and pick out defence splitting passes makes him one of the leagues chief operators in that position. Most of the good Spurs do will emanate from Eriksen and Saturday should be no different. The former Ajax player could be the man to put Liverpool to the sword on Saturday and spoil Klopp’s big welcome. Also, if there is anyone who can consistently provide chances for Harry Kane to get back on goalscoring form its Christian Eriksen.
Liverpool: Jürgen Klopp
It’s the same group of players as before the international break, but since Liverpool’s 1-1 draw in the Merseyside derby they may have pulled off what could potentially be signing of the season. Brendan Rodgers has been relieved of his duties as Liverpool manager and Klopp has returned to management to try and steady the ship at Anfield. It is potentially an appointment that can change the club’s whole season. The optimism amongst fans is already a massive boost for the club, there is belief in the man chosen to lead the club and I would imagine that will be filtering into the players as well. They always say a fresh new managerial appointment can have an instant impact; this should be one of those appointments. If all goes to plan the Liverpool players will look five times the players they were this season under Rodgers and Liverpool can start to believe a return to the summit of English football may be possible. He is hardly going to have his philosophy engrained on the players yet, but just the mere fact Klopp is there in the dugout instead of Rodgers, makes him the key man for everyone involved at Liverpool this Saturday.
Betting Tips
Spurs to win at Paddy Power – 6/4
Klopp to take Liverpool to victory at 2/1 on BetVictor
Odds for a stalemate at 12/5 with Unibet
Prediction
While Tottenham will be a stern test for Klopp in his opening fixture with his new club, I can still see the wave of optimism his arrival has brought to Anfield being enough to see his side to a tight win on Saturday.
2-1 Liverpool
