Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool Preview: To play or not to play

This is going to be shorter since I have invested far too much time writing previews for matches that have gotten postponed. Though Tottenham Hotspur seems to be moving in the right direction with its Covid cases, the same is not true for Liverpool, despite the proceeding of its match on Thursday.

The Premier League seems to be more willing to delay fixtures (see: Leicester-Spurs) so there is a real chance that Sunday’s contest gets moved too. If not, Tottenham will try to not lose for the eighth time in a row against the Reds, who own a 14-4-1 head-to-head record since 20213.

Tottenham Hotspur (7th, 25pts) vs. Liverpool (2nd, 40pts)

Date: Sunday, December 19
Time: 11:30 am ET, 4:30 pm UK
Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England
TV: Peacock Premium (USA), Sky Sports Main Event (UK)

Liverpool are amongst the clear top three of the Premier League right now, well in contention for the title. After seeing a slight dip in offense last season, the Reds now offer the league’s most prolific attack and have ridden that to six straight wins. The back line has been just as effective, posting clean sheets in four of those matches.

For Spurs, this has rarely been a fun fixture. Liverpool has dominated this contest as of late, and with all of the illness and stoppages going on with the club right now, it would take some fortune to reverse that now. Tottenham still is in great shape for fourth place, but finding room for all of these missed fixtures is going to be tough.

Three themes

1. Availability remains the number one question for Tottenham. This is not an opponent that is fun to face with a reduced squad, and there is certain to be a bit of rust. Perhaps Antonio Conte will look to be a little more defensive in this one and try to snag something on the counter.
2. Spurs lost both fixtures last season (surprise!). Heung-Min Son equalized in the first half at Anfield before a late winner put the hosts ahead 2-1. A month later it was Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg who snagged the lone Tottenham goal in a rough 1-3 defeat in North London.
3. No reprieve in the fixture list from here, with a League Cup contest on Wednesday against West Ham, then three more matches scheduled the following week. At this point, who knows if all or any of them will actually be played, but the future looks busy regardless.