Liverpool get the festive period under way on Sunday as they prepare for a gruelling set of fixtures away from home broken up only by a visit to Anfield from Cardiff on the 21st. This weekend though the Reds travel to White Hart Lane to face Andre Villas Boas' Tottenham side.
Injuries for Liverpool for this one mean they are without the prominent pairing of Steven Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge. The positive for Liverpool though is that Jordan Henderson has recovered from an ankle injury and Daniel Agger is also available after missing the game against West Ham.
For Spurs they are without Kaboul, Chiriches and Vertonghen. Danny Rose and Christian Eriksen will also be subject to late fitness tests after missing the game against Anzhi in the Europa League.
Spurs currently find themselves 6th in the league with 27 points. After a recent dry spell the Londoners appear to have got back into the swing of things with two wins on the bounce against Sunderland and Fulham. Tottenham have definitely looked less effective after losing star man Gareth Bale in the summer and whilst one man shouldn't make a team it certainly seems to have had an effect.
Liverpool find themselves in 2nd place after a win against West Ham and some favourable results around them. The Reds will also be hoping for a positive result from the Arsenal V City game to aid them in their efforts going forward. Liverpool have also notched up two wins on the bounce against West Ham and Norwich.
The last time the two sides met was at Anfield in March of this year. The game ended 3-2 with Luis Suarez, Stewart Downing and Steven Gerrard scoring for Liverpool and Jan Vertonghen collecting a brace for Spurs.
Liverpool haven't won at White Hart Lane since May 2008. The game that day ended 2-0 with Fernando Torres and Andrei Voronin on the score sheet (haha!). This is of course a worrying stat for Liverpool but it by no means indicates that Brendan Rodgers' side can't go out and get a result.
Stat Sandwich
- Liverpool have 15 more goals and 11 more points than they did at the same stage last season.
- Tottenham Hotspur have won more games away from home than at White Hart Lane this season.
- The Reds have scored from set pieces on 14 occasions this season.
I don't think I'll be having a punt on this game but if I were going to place money on it I can see this being a score draw. As always I don't wish this to be the case, I would much prefer a win but I feel it is going to be a big ask of Liverpool to win at White Hart Lane. It is strange though because the other two difficult away games we have later in December I actually feel we can win, we appear to relish the challenge and style of play from the likes of City and Chelsea whereas Spurs seem to create frustration within the side and I don't feel they play in these sort of games with as much courage making it harder for Liverpool to pick at mistakes and break.
Liverpool will of course also miss the presence of both Steven Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge but I definitely fancy Luis Suarez to continue his immense streak of goalscoring on Sunday.
As always I asked a few of you on Twitter to send in your score predictions and here are a couple of the ones I received...
Enjoy the match folks!