Liverpool host Tottenham at the Anfield stadium in what could turn out to be a title-deciding fixture. It will be particularly tough for Tottenham to keep runaway leaders Chelsea in sight with the pressure of playing a Liverpool side who themselves will be looking to overturn their fortunes after their recent dip in form.
Liverpool fans will be optimistic of this encounter with their record against Tottenham giving them every reason to be. Liverpool have won 6 games and drawn 4 in their last 10 games against Tottenham. Below we look at three ways in which the North London side could better Liverpool.
Absorbing Liverpool’s initial offensive pressure:
In the recent games between the two, Tottenham have managed to absorb an enormous amount of offensive pressure. They’ll have to continue doing so and must be careful in not throwing in rash challenges. Wanyama will particularly have to be cautious in keeping track of Coutinho and Firmino and resist the temptation of going in for a tackle. The same goes for Dier. Davies must be wary of the threat possessed by Sadio Mane.
Alderweireld too will have a huge responsibility of reading passes in the penalty area since Liverpool often play intricate and improvised passes which can turn out to be tough to defend and even more so if there is ball-watching and lack of concentration while defending. Lloris too must be alert and be ready to get off his lines if need be.
Important for Tottenham to not play on the counter:
It is vital for Tottenham to not allow Liverpool possession for longer durations. Liverpool are dangerous when they are in their flow and an attempt to sit back and defend might only play into opposition’s hands. It will be equivalent to pressing the self-destruct button to just sit back and defend and play on the counter.
Even in the previous fixtures what Tottenham did well was to keep the pressure on by pressing the opposition players high up the pitch despite not having enough possession. They must look to be creative even if that is at the cost of losing possession. Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, and Harry Kane will have to make most of whatever chances they get.
Ben Davies must try and keep Nathaniel Clyne from venture too much forward down the pitch by keeping continuous offensive pressure and Walker too must see to it that Milner is not allowed the luxury of too much space and time who can pick out a player in the box through a good diagonal ball or a cross.
Key players for Tottenham – Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama:
The midfield duo has formed an excellent pivot providing decent defensive as well as offensive balance which has given Tottenham another dimension in their play.
Mousa Dembele was particularly effective in the last game against Liverpool in which the Belgian often carried the ball forward, showing some excellent dribbling skills. He also held the ball in pressure situations against Liverpool midfielders which allowed Tottenham players to get assembled into offensive positions.
Wanyama too has shown what an important player he is with some excellent performances in the recent games. The Kenyan will have to show that he can sustain pressure and press from Liverpool midfielders.
