Sunday 30 March 2014 | Anfield | Kick-off 16:00
180px-Liverpool_FC.svg.jpg vs Spurs.jpg
Wiziwig Links
180px-Liverpool_FC.svg.jpg vs Spurs.jpg
Wiziwig Links
TEAM NEWS
Liverpool have no fresh injury concerns for the visit of Tottenham to Anfield.
Winger Raheem Sterling might therefore be forced to sit on the bench for the third consecutive game.
Tottenham's top scorer Emmanuel Adebayor is set to return to the line-up after missing last week's win over Southampton with a cut heel.
Defender Kyle Walker remains sidelined with a groin problem, while Vlad Chiriches begins his injury comeback for Tottenham's Under-21's on Friday.
MATCH PREVIEW
If you had told a Tottenham fan back in August that they'd be five points clear of Manchester United in late March, they'd have been forgiven for assuming that Champions League football, at the very least, was returning to White Hart Lane.
In fact, the competition looks likely to elude Spurs again.
It's not impossible for Arsenal to be caught, certainly Arsene Wenger's men look by the far the least convincing of the top four just now. But even if the Gunners do stumble, Everton look in better shape than Tottenham to catch them.
But for Gylfi Sigurdsson's late winner against Southampton last Sunday you'd surely say the game was up already?
Liverpool had not been called upon to really scrap for a win for weeks, not until Sunderland's late rally at Anfield on Wednesday exposed the nervous underbelly to the swaggering incision of their forward play.
Tottenham will have taken note and may adopt a similar tactic; stay in sight for as long as possible and launch the cavalry late on.
But Liverpool's goalscoring stats are remarkable. Suarez and Sturridge, 28 and 23 goals respectively this season, have eclipsed half a century of celebrated goalscoring Anfield partnerships.
The records of Toshack and Keegan, Dalglish and Rush, Aldridge and Beardsley, Fowler and Collymore, Owen and Heskey have all been surpassed by the 51-goal partnership of the SAS.
Not since Roger Hunt and Ian St John in 1963-64 had a Liverpool front pair scored 20 league goals each in the same season.
In fact, Liverpool have scored 11 more goals in the first-half alone (51) this season than Spurs have managed in the whole of their league campaign.
Anfield is the ground at which Tim Sherwood enjoyed the crowning glory of his playing career when, as Blackburn captain, he lifted the Premier League title in 1995.
A win there on Sunday would shatter the form book, and be the best day yet in his fledgling managerial career.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- Tottenham have only won six of their 70 league games at Anfield (D20, L44).
- Spurs have only won two of the 21 Premier League clashes at Liverpool (W13, D6, L2).
- Liverpool's 5-0 win in the corresponding fixture was their biggest ever win at White Hart Lane and Andre Villas Boas' final game in charge of Tottenham.
- The last two meetings between these sides have featured 10 goals.
Liverpool
- Liverpool have won their last seven league games in a row - their best run since they enjoyed nine consecutive victories in 2005-06.
- They have only lost one home game this season in all competitions (W14, L1, D1).
- The Reds have only failed to score in two league games this season. The last time they failed to score in a league match was 30 November against Arsenal.
- Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge are the third pair to score 20 or more goals each in a single Premier League season, joining Andrew Cole/Peter Beardsley in 1993-94 and Didier Drogba/Frank Lampard in 2009-10.
- Suarez and Sturridge have scored eight more goals (48) than Tottenham (40) in the Premier League this season.
- Liverpool have now scored before half-time in a record 21 consecutive Premier League games.
Tottenham
- Only Manchester United (30) have won more points on their travels than Tottenham (29) this season.
- However, Spurs have lost their last two away league games without scoring a goal. They haven't lost three in a row since January 2009.
- Stoke (36) and Newcastle (38) are the only top-half sides to have scored fewer league goals than Tottenham this season (40).
- Tottenham and Manchester United are the only teams yet to lose a game from a winning position this season.