Tottenham Sets Out to End Liverpool's Perfect Start to Premier League Season
They are sides cut from different clothes seeking a similar end game: A Premier League title and with a little bit of luck, Champions League glory.
Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur kick off the fifth match day Saturday at Wembley Stadium in a mouth-watering clash of top-five sides set to embark on their respective European adventures.
The Reds (4-0-0) are atop the table on the maximum 12 points, ahead of resurgent Chelsea and surprise package Watford on goal difference. Their run to the Champions League final last spring emboldened the franchise to end a silverware drought now in its seventh season since winning the 2012 League Cup as they spent the summer spending the kitty from Philippe Coutinho's sale to Barcelona.
The primary goal was to find a goalkeeper with the mental fortitude to go with the elite physical shot-stopping skills needed to challenge the league and continent's best clubs. The other was finding players to fit Jurgen Klopp's gegenpressing style.
Both have meshed well as Liverpool have conceded once thus far, and that goal was a howler by their £65 million man between the sticks - Alisson. The Brasil international may be too confident with the ball at his feet, as he was caught out trying to dribble around Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho, who dispossessed him and set up the goal that made that 2-1 victory a fortnight ago more nerve-wracking than needed.
It may be the only blemish for a Liverpool team which boasts a lethal attack in Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. The trio have accounted for seven of the team's nine goals, and Mane is joint-leader in the Premier League on four with Fulham's Aleksander Mitrovic.
Heading into a Champions League group that has a staggering amount of firepower in France's Paris-Saint Germain, paced by Alisson's compatriot Neymar and France starlet Kylian Mbappe, and Italy's Napoli boasting scorers and playmakers in Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insgine and Marek Hamsik, both attack and defense - along with depth - are going to be needed for the Reds to have the kind of season they envisioned with their aggressive summer spending spree.
"I'm looking forward to the game against Tottenham, especially now because in the next few weeks we have a lot of games, a lot of good games, difficult games," forward Xherdan Shaqiri told Sky Sports, fully expecting to see more playing time than the 27 minutes he has logged thus far as Liverpool begin chasing titles on three fronts when including the Carabao Cup. "But we will try to keep our good performances and I hope we can win a lot of games.
"We train hard every day. You can see that there is a lot of quality in our team and we are hard-working every day. And competition in football is also good for the players."
Klopp made only one change to his XI over the last four games, and that was introducing Jordan Henderson into the midfield after 2017 signing and newcomer Naby Keita started the first three matches while the England international rested following World Cup duties. The biggest outfield signing Liverpool made this summer - midfielder Fabinho at a £39 million price tag - has yet to play a single minute, but that is expected to change in either this game or Wednesday's Champions League opener versus PSG.
"My start has been good and the adaptation good. The pre-season was very good, we had nine friendlies and I played nine," Fabinho told Globo Esporte.
"It was good to play against English teams to see what the rhythm, the intensity and the physique is like. I am adapting to the team's style of play. The more experienced players have helped me, the technical team as well."
Dejan Lovren remains the lone injury absence as Liverpool are not rushing the Croatia international to return from an abdominal injury. Joe Gomez is expected to continue his partnership with Virgil Van Dijk in central defense, with Joel Matip also available.
Tottenham (3-0-1) have taken a pair of large injury hits which again calls their decision not to reinforce the squad during the summer window into question. While Liverpool spent, Spurs scrimped - they were the first side in Premier League history not to spend money in the summer window since it came to be.
As they impatiently wait to move into their new version of White Hart Lane - this was supposed to be the first match in their new digs -- Tottenham believe their core is enough to bring them to new heights in Europe in a demanding group with perennials Barcelona, Italian side Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven from the Netherlands and challenge at home for their first league title since 1961.
Striker and World Cup Golden Boot winner Harry Kane netted two goals and an assist in the first four matches, and Lucas Moura has made a full adjustment to life with the Spurs after his January arrival and paces the side with three goals. Kane and England compatriot Kieran Trippier were also shortlisted for the FIFA FIFpro World XI.
Spurs had their 100 percent start end in surprising fashion at Watford before the international break. The upstart Hornets, who are third in the table with the maximum 12 points, rallied and struck twice in a seven-minute span against backup keeper Michael Vorm as he deputised for injured No. 1 Hugo Lloris.
Vorm is going to be between the sticks for the foreseeable future, as Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino announced Thursday that Lloris would miss "several weeks" with a thigh injury suffered in their win over Manchester United on Aug. 27 that also caused the World Cup winner to miss France's first two Nations League matches.
Spurs will also be without attacking midfielder Dele Alli due to a hamstring injury suffered while with England on international duty. It is also likely to sideline him for Tottenham's Champions League opener at Inter Milan on Tuesday. Pochettino will likely choose between Erik Lamela and Harry Winks to fill that spot.
They do get back forward Heung-Min Son, who missed the previous three matches helping South Korea win the gold medal in the Asian Games. The title also earned Son, who assisted on both goals in the 2-1 win over Japan in extra time, an exemption from the 21-month compulsory military service all South Korean males must do before the age of 28.
The Lilywhites ended a 10-match winless spell (0-3-7) to Liverpool in all competitions with an emphatic 4-1 thrashing in last season's corresponding fixture. Kane and Son scored in the first 12 minutes, and after Salah pulled one back before the half-hour, Alli restored the two-goal lead in first-half stoppage time before Kane completed a brace on 56 minutes.
Kane, who also had a match-tying penalty in the 2-2 draw at Anfield in February, has five goals and two assists in seven league matches versus Liverpool. Salah accounted for all three goals for the Reds against the north London side last term.
