Focus Fixture: Tottenham v Liverpool Betting Tips and Preview

Despite the fact the attention of the sporting world is on the Ryder Cup in Rome, there are still important games to be played in the Premier League. The biggest of the weekend without a doubt is Liverpool’s trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

The Form

After disappointing terms last year, both teams have surprised us with their level of performances so far this season. Liverpool finished last season strong and have carried that form on, they are now 17 games unbeaten, the longest run of any team in the Premier League. 

An opening day draw at Stamford Bridge, has been followed by a seven-game winning streak in all competitions. The most impressive being a 2-1 comeback win against Newcastle at St James’ Park after being reduced to ten men for the majority of the game. Darwin Nunez has shown signs of improvement from last season including a breath-taking brace off the bench in the game against Newcastle. Nunez is joint top-goalscorer with the inevitable Mohamed Salah on three. 

The biggest revelation to come out of Anfield this summer is Dominik Szoboszlai. The 22-year-old midfielder arrived from RB Leipzig in the summer for £60 million and has hit the ground running. He opened his goal-scoring account in the 3-0 victory over Aston Villa at the start of the month and fired in a rocket in the Carabao Cup against Leicester on Wednesday night. He has been impressive in both his on and off-the-ball work. 

Liverpool haven’t been making life easy for themselves though. They have gone behind in four of the six league games they have played so far this season and in the first half against Wolves they looked seriously off the pace, only to score three after the break. They have scored 15 goals in the league so far, conceding five, all around it has been a very strong start from Liverpool. This Saturday, is the toughest test Jurgen Klopp’s team have faced this season. 

Tottenham come fresh off a 2-2 draw at the Emirates which will do their confidence a world of good. Having gone behind on two separate occasions they came back strong to claim a point. It didn’t take too much imagination to see the Spurs teams of the past few seasons folding under the pressure, but they didn’t. They remained committed to their style of play and weren’t daunted or troubled by Arsenal’s pressing game, instead they trusted their ability and passed their way through trouble.  

Ange Postecoglu will be very pleased with his side’s performance against Arsenal, but will be looking for three points in this one. 

The head-to-head record makes grim reading for Tottenham fans. 

Spurs have won just one of their last 24 matches against Liverpool in all competitions. They haven’t tasted victory in this fixture since a 4-1 win at Wembley, back in October 2017 - a match that it is widely thought to have persuaded Klopp that he needed to bring in Virgil Van Dijk to shore up his defence. The Reds emerged victorious on both occasions last season, a Salah brace in a 2-1 win in this fixture last season was followed by a game for the ages at Anfield. Liverpool flew out to a 3-0 lead inside 15 minutes, before Spurs pegged them back to 3-2 thanks to goals from Harry Kane and Heung-min Son. A Richarlison equaliser in the 93rd minute of stoppage time, sent the away end into bedlam. Their joy was short-lived. A Lucas Moura error gifted Liverpool possession and Diego Jota found the back of the net. If there was a roof on Anfield, it would have come off.

The Runners and Riders

Despite looking fragile towards the end of the North London Derby last weekend, Postecoglu is confident that both James Maddison and Son will be fit for this one. Brennan Johnson, on the other hand, appeared to pick up a hamstring injury in Sunday’s game and is highly doubtful. Spurs are still without Bryan Gill, Giovanni Lo Celso, Ryan Sessengon, Ivan Perisic. Rodrigo Bentancur has begun his return to training, but won’t be featuring for a while. 

Liverpool will still be without Thiago Alcantara, but Trent Alexander-Arnold is a possibility. Alexander-Arnold returned to training earlier this week and was very impressive according to assistant manager Pep Lijnders. 

What they said

In his pre-match press conference Klopp said: “Tottenham’s doing really well. Ange [Postecoglou] seems to be a top bloke. They were all desperate to watch some fancy football and he’s delivering that.”

Postecoglou, who grew up as a Liverpool fan, said: “I used to have Liverpool posters. But things change. I used to love Happy Days too - I don’t have posters of The Fonz any more either.”

Bet Builder Tip

This week I am going to go against the form. Liverpool’s record against Spurs looks ready to fall and with Tottenham’s rejuvenated team and a raucous home crowd behind them I think it is time. There is good value in a Tottenham win as well at 3. 

Both teams to score also appeals given it’s clicked in 11 of the last 14 games between these two sides. In addition, both have scored 15 goals in six games so far this season.

A Tottenham win and both teams to score will net you odds of 4.1.

However, if you add in the second half being the highest scoring then you get a tasty price of 6.8. It may seem this is a bit of a left field bet but Liverpool have had to come from behind so often this season and Spurs are no stranger to late drama either scoring twice deep into stoppage time in their last home game against Sheffield United.

Recommended Bet

Spurs to win, BTTS and second half highest scoring - yes @ 6.8