TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR VS LIVERPOOL: PREDICTED LINEUP

Liverpool are in action tomorrow night when they travel to North London to face Antonio Conte’s Spurs outfit in a ‘Super Sunday’ clash. Tottenham are a whopping 10 points clear of Jürgen Klopp’s side already. Here’s how we see the German lining his side up for the encounter.

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It’s a five day gap between this fixture and the victory at Ajax. This hands the manager the chance to pick his strongest side. There will be no rotation required, especially with the next fixture a League Cup game against Derby County.

This will be a tough test and the gaffer’s lineup will reflect that. He has a decision to make on his preferred system after a return to the 4-3-3 on Tuesday night. Does he maintain that formation or does he tweak it again with Darwin Nunez likely to start?

Whatever he decides, the team will have to show an improved level of performance to get the result. There can be no gifts for this Spurs side, neither can the terrible habit of conceding first continue. Hand Conte’s men the lead and they’ll gladly shut up shop and wait for counter attacking opportunities.

It is imperative the defence and the team as a whole stay compact. In goal will be Alisson Becker. The Brazilian stopper was named Standard Chartered Player of the Month for October and rightly so. He will have to be at his best again if the Reds are to come away with all three points tomorrow.

Ahead of him in defence, there’s likely to be just the one change; Robertson in for Tsimikas. The ‘Greek Scouser’ was his dependable self against Napoli but Robbo will get the nod. The Scottish skipper had an eventful game at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium last season, scoring and assisting before being sent off.

In midfield, the manager will pick a trio whether he’s setting them up in a 4-3-3 or the 4-4-2 diamond we’ve seen recently. With Henderson back fit, we can expect the skipper to return in place of James Milner who’s out due to concussion protocol.

The skipper will in all likelihood play on the right of Fabinho, with Thiago taking up a similar position on the left of the Brazilian destroyer. The shape will be more akin to the diamond as a result of who starts in attack.

Darwin Nunez is in line for a return to the starting XI. This will see him partner up with Mo Salah once again, leaving Bobby Firmino to take up a free role at the tip of the midfield diamond. This is the system that best suits the personnel available.

Asking Darwin to hug the touchline as a left winger in a 4-3-3 isn’t exactly putting the big man to good use. He is at his best making runs into the box and generally being a pest for centre halves. The likes of Elliott, Carvalho, Jones and co will offer options off the bench.

Predicted team:

Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago, Firmino, Salah, Darwin,

Subs: Kelleher, Ramsay, Gomez, Tsimikas, Bajcetic, Jones, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Elliott, Carvalho.