(H) Tottenham - Pre Match Thoughts

Premier League

                                             Sunday 10th March 2013
                                                  Anfield

                            Liverpool VS Tottenham Hotspur


This is an occasion for football fans, not just those who follow the fortunes of either Tottenham or Liverpool. If you enjoy football then on show today are two of the Premier League's best players. Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez have respectively done wonders for their clubs and are always at the top of any defenders primary concerns. It's unfortunate in a way that they aren't going up against each other directly but it's safe to say that the team who deals with them better will be the one who comes out on top. They are both players who can change a game in an instant and as such it will require full focus for ninety minutes from whichever defenders that Brendan Rodgers decides to put out there.

After the emphatic victory over Wigan which now feels like an age ago, we're settling down to make the final push for the end of the season.  The good news is that Daniel Sturridge has been passed fit (and I never thought I'd be saying this) but it may come at the cost of Stewart Downing, who would be unlucky to find himself out of the line up after last week.  Sturridge may not be the only change as Martin Skrtel is fit again and I've a funny feeling he'll play as well as Jordan Henderson, whom I erroneously focused on last week only for him to not even make the starting line up.  Whoever does take to the field, we're in good spirits and - West Brom aside - great form at home.  This one would be far sweeter than any of those previous wins, three points against a top side in the league.  Both against Spurs and in terms of someone above us, we're due one.

While it's true that we will certainly have to be on our toes regarding Gareth Bale, ignoring the rest of the team could prove to be very costly indeed.  Today could very well be the day that will make a fringe player very happy. From Assou-Ekotto to Sebastian Bassong and Erik Edman, some of Spurs' lesser lights have a habit of saving their wonder strikes for games against Liverpool. I'm nervous enough as it is that Emmanuel Adebayor will awaken from his seasonal slumber and suddenly look like a world beater.

Spurs have played two full games over the last seven days and while their emphatic win over Inter Milan wasn't quite as tiring for them as I'd hoped it would be it's still very difficult for any side to win three games in a week.  Whatever tiredness is there will certainly help us in trying to keep them quiet, especially on the break where their pace can be deadly.

Defeat today would all but officially extinguish whatever faint hope there lingered in terms of finishing in the top four. If we do manage to win however, confidence will soar and the impossible may have got a little easier.  Away from home Spurs seem to have some kind of hold over us and managed to win in the last three seasons while we've not managed to inflict any damage on them whatsoever   This time has to be different, we have to show that even though we're unlikely to join them in the Champions League next year, we are still capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with them.