BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Anfield Date: Sunday, 11 March KO 16:00
By Steve Wilson
Liverpool pair Daniel Sturridge and Martin Skrtel are available to face Tottenham after recovering from injury.
Sturridge has overcome a thigh problem and could make his first appearance since 17 February, while Skrtel is likely to be a substitute.
Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon is doubtful after suffering a hamstring injury against Inter Milan.
Emmanuel Adebayor returns to the squad after missing Thursday’s game because of a knee problem.
Tom Huddlestone and Clint Dempsey are doubts with respective knee and calf injuries.
MATCH PREVIEW
In 1912, the Titanic sank; in 1985, Microsoft Windows software was launched. An awful lot of stuff happened in between, but in all that time Tottenham Hotspur never once navigated their way from Anfield with a victory to celebrate.
All they ever seemed to get from Liverpool was repetitive strain injury from constant bending to pick the ball out of their net.
That was 73 years of Tottenham effort largely wasted; then along came my good friend Garth Crooks with the only goal of the game in March 1985 and the run was ended.
These days Spurs usually take on Liverpool with much more confidence. They have won seven and lost only of three of their last 12 meetings in league and cup.
The key protagonists in the latest encounter will almost certainly be Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale. The latter has 14 goals in his last 14 games for Tottenham, the same as Liverpool’s Uruguayan over the same period.
Suarez may be Bale’s only serious rival for the title of Footballer of the Year, and both will have the choice of staying put or moving on for many millions of pounds in the summer. Keeping them happy is their respective managers’ first priority.
Champions League football is the key to keeping top players smiling and Liverpool will not be able to offer Suarez that next season. Nevertheless if Liverpool finish the season strongly, I think Suarez is likely to have seen enough in the green shoots of their recovery, and in the early impact of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho, to decide it’s worth sticking around.
You’d hesitate to say that Brendan Rodgers has made a terrific start at Anfield, but there does seem to be a sense of stability and measured, proactive planning for the future which can only be healthy.
Champions League football is there for the taking for Tottenham. If they can avoid defeat at Liverpool this weekend and against Chelsea and Manchester City in April, they would be virtual certainties for at least third place and be in a strong position to persuade their supercharged Welshman to stay.
Andre Villas-Boas has done tremendously well after a slow start when some Spurs fans were unconvinced and hankering after Harry Redknapp. After their destruction of Inter Milan on Thursday night hopes are high that Spurs may even secure a Champions League place whilst winning the Europa League at the same time.
Now that would give the old cockerel on White Hart Lane’s West Stand roof something to crow about.
DID YOU KNOW?
Head-to-head
- Tottenham have won four of their last five games against Liverpool (W4, L1).
- Spurs won 2-0 at Anfield in May 2011, but that is their only victory in their last 18 Premier League games away to Liverpool.
Liverpool
- Liverpool’s last six league victories have seen them record a winning margin of at least three goals (3-0 twice, 4-0 twice and 5-0 twice), scoring 24 unanswered goals. In total, they have won eight matches by at least three goals this season – a league high.
- The Reds have scored 22 Premier League goals in 2013, the highest tally in the top flight prior to this weekend.
- Luis Suarez is the third different player to have scored at least 20 Premier League goals for Liverpool, following in the footsteps of Robbie Fowler and Fernando Torres.
Tottenham Hotspur
- Spurs are unbeaten in 12 league games, their longest run without defeat since a 14-match streak between November 1984 and March 1985.
- They have won their last four league games, and have been beaten in only one of their previous 16 matches (W11, D4, L1).
- Gareth Bale has scored seven times in Tottenham’s last five league games.
- If the Welshman scores against Liverpool he will become the first Spurs player to net in six consecutive Premier League matches. The last Spurs player to manage that feat in the top flight was Garth Crooks between December 1984 and January 1985.
