On February 11th, Liverpool will welcome Tottenham to Anfield in  a battle between two teams desperate to stay in the Premier League title race.  With Chelsea nine points clear at the top of the league, both teams need to win if they want to keep even the smallest chance of the title in their sights.
Liverpool are now 13 points off Chelsea at the top of the Premier League and may have already blown any chance they had at the title. Â Liverpool haven’t won a Premier League game since New Years Eve when they beat Manchester City. Â Their only win in all competitions in the new year was against League Two side Plymouth Argyle. Â Their loss to Hull City last weekend has put their top four hopes in doubt and they really can’t afford this winless streak to go on much longer.
Tottenham find themselves second in the Premier League, but they’re still a full nine points off the top spot. Â In fact they find themselves closer to Manchester United in fifth than they do to Chelsea in first. Â If they want to keep their title chase going they’ll need to put together a near perfect run at the end of the season. Â A win at Anfield would be a big step toward staying in the race for the title.
Team News
Liverpool have a few sure absences and a few doubts for their encounter with Spurs. Â Danny Ings and Marko Gruijic will miss out with long term injuries, while both Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan are doubts after missing last week with a knee injury and illness respectively, according to Physioroom.com.
Tottenham have a few major players missing the trip to Anfield with them.  Danny Rose, Jan Vertongen, and Erik Lamela will all be missing against Liverpool with long term injuries, according to physioroom.com. On top of that, Kieran Trippier and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou are fitness doubts.
Key Players
Liverpool: Sadio Mane
Sadio Mane missed most of Liverpool’s January fixtures and there was a noticeable difference. Â The Reds had a much tougher time scoring without their Senegalese star. Â While they were again held scoreless in their 2-0 loss to Hull City on Mane’s return, Jurgen Klopp will hope once he gets back in his rhythm after being away at the African Cup of Nations Liverpool will be back to their free scoring best. Â Klopp will need to hope he gets into that rhythm soon, because Liverpool will need all the goal they can get against the league’s best defense.
Tottenham: Christian Eriksen
While they’ve only scored one goal in their last two matches, Spurs had scored multiple goals in their previous nine matches in all competitions. Â The creativity of Christian Eriksen was a big part in that free scoring stretch. Â The Daanish international had two goals and four assists in that stretch and will hope to get back to his best to help Spurs knock off Liverpool and keep themselves in the title race.
Prediction
This will likely be a very tight match. Â Liverpool have been in dire form, but they have still only lost once at home n the league this season, while spurs have only won four away matches this season. Â This one has a lot of potential to end in a draw.
