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Liverpool welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Anfield on Sunday afternoon with both sides still harbouring hopes of qualifying for the 2023/24 Champions League. The Reds are currently a point behind Spurs in the Premier League table but have a game in hand on their opponents.
Liverpool go into the game knowing that anything other than victory will likely end their hopes of finishing inside their top four but their recent form has been good. Klopp’s men are unbeaten in their last five league games and a win here could see them jump into 5th position depending on the result in the day’s earlier match between Manchester United and Aston Villa.
Tottenham, on the other hand, arguably have a tougher route to the top four than their opponents due to the fact they only have five games remaining. Even if they won all five, they would only end up on 69 points which would likely not be enough to finish inside the top four. The main agenda for new interim boss, Ryan Mason, will be to breathe a bit of life into the squad before the summer break.
The match is set to kick off at 16:30 UK time and viewers will be able to watch the match at Sky Sports Main Event.
Liverpool Team News: Ibrahima Konaté returns for the Reds
Jurgen Klopp seems to have found an unusual winning formula over the past four games in terms of his midfield and forward line. The German has brought Curtis Jones into his starting lineup to play alongside Fabinho and Jordan Henderson in midfield and it seems to have worked out well. The Reds are unbeaten in the last five, all of which have featured the trio as starters.
While the decision to start Jones may have been born out of necessity, due to injuries to Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic, the 22-year-old has impressed and will almost certainly retain his place in the starting lineup on Sunday despite Thiago’s return.
Up top, Klopp will hope to continue with Jota, Gakpo and Salah as his front three. The trio have started the last four games and linked up well. It has meant that £70m man, Darwin Nunez, has had to settle for a place on the bench but he may well return to the starting lineup on Sunday due to Diogo Jota, who has ended his goal drought in recent weeks, being an injury doubt.
At the back, Ibrahima Konaté is set to return to the starting eleven after missing the game against West Ham. The Frenchman’s return will mean that Joel Matip will return to the substitutes bench.
Tottenham Hotspur Team News: Will Hugo Lloris return between the sticks?
Ryan Mason will be forced to line up without club captain, Hugo Lloris, once again on Sunday as the Interim boss confirmed in his pre-match press conference that the Frenchman is still out with the same injury that forced him at half time against Newcastle United last weekend. Fraser Forster, who made a couple of big saves against Manchester United on Thursday, will retain his place in the Spurs goal.
Elsewhere, Spurs are still without Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur, Emerson Royal and Ryan Sessegnon. It means that Mason could field an identical team to the one he selected against Manchester United. One change that he may consider is bringing in Dejan Kulusevski to the starting lineup in place of Richarlison.
One man who is guaranteed to start for the away side is Harry Kane. The England centre forward has once again enjoyed a fantastic personal season and is on 24 league goals for the season despite playing for one of the most defensive teams in the league. With five games to play until the end of the season, Kane will still have his eyes on the 30-goal marker.
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