Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur: Team news and Premier League preview
Tottenham Hotspur take a trip to Liverpool on Sunday to face off the soon-to-be champions of the Premier League; Liverpool. With two weeks until the Europa League semi-finals, Spurs will aim to take some confidence into that tie, while their hosts could seal the Premier League crown in front of the Anfield crowd.
With the league title all but confirmed for Liverpool and Spurs’ focus leaning toward their European campaign, the clash at Anfield still holds its own importance. While the Reds are close to glory, Tottenham Hotspur are looking to avoid a disastrous domestic finish and pick up some much-needed momentum.
What time does Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur kick off?
Location: Liverpool, England
Stadium: Anfield
Date: Sunday 27th April 2025
Kick-off Time: 4:30 pm BST
Referee: Tom Bramall
VAR: John Brooks
How both teams go into Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs are coming into this fixture off the back of two consecutive league defeats, first a 4-2 loss at the Molineux followed by a 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest at home. Sandwiched between that was the second leg of the European quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt, where they won 1-0.
Performance-wise, the last two games have actually been really good for Spurs. They had loads of chances, but defensive lapses cost them crucial points in the league – contrasting with a more complete showing in Europe.
Against Nottingham, it was a classic case of attack vs defence. Some might say Nuno Santos outperformed Ange Postecoglou while others would say the opposite. But the truth is, both teams stuck to their plans and their managers’ playstyles incredibly well; but perhaps Nuno’s side just did it slightly better.
It’s unlikely Spurs will be able to replicate their performance against Nottingham in this fixture. Liverpool sit at the top with a 42-point gap over Spurs and are 12 points above their north London rivals who sit in second. You could take comfort in this angle if you’re a Spurs fan (although Ange may hate you for it): losing this fixture would essentially take the title out of the hands of your biggest rivals.
Despite being arguably the best in Europe for large parts of this season, they were given harsh reality checks last month as their once-hopeful treble campaign (UCL, Premier League, and Carabao Cup) has now been reduced to the Premier League only.
That said, the last week was exactly what their fans needed to lift spirits. Two consecutive wins against 17th-placed West Ham (2-1) and 19th-placed Leicester (0-1), along with Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk extending their contracts. It’s a bit sad that Van Dijk didn’t listen to that Spurs mascot who asked him to join Spurs.
Spurs’ head-to-head record vs Liverpool
Spurs. Anfield. Gulp. Or a cheeky grin if you’re not a Spurs fan.
Tottenham Hotspur have already faced Liverpool three times this season. Once in the league, which was the reverse fixture; an embarrassing 3-6 home defeat. Although, you may give it a second thought when you look at a defence featuring Forster, Dragusin and Gray going up against the likes of Salah, Diaz and Gakpo.
The other two meetings came in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. Spurs surprisingly won the first tie 1-0 at home following a late controversial Lucas Bergvall strike. The second leg away however ended in probably Spurs’ worst result this season: a 4-0 loss.
Anfield is a graveyard for Spurs. The last time they won there was way back in May 2011, when Rafael van der Vaart and a young Luka Modric were the scorers and Harry Redknapp the manager. Van der Vaart’s retired, and Luka Modric (39) is definitely not young anymore.
Since then, Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 15 home games against Spurs in all competitions (W11 D4), winning the last three while scoring four goals each time. Spurs have only beaten the Reds twice in their last 24 league meetings (both at home) and haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of the last 18. (BBC Sport)
Tottenham team news
Thankfully, after a really long time, a Spurs game has gone by without anyone suffering an injury. Ange will have his entire squad to choose from, although he’s much more likely to use his second team considering he has one eye on the Europa League semi-finals next week.
Heung min Son remains a doubt with a foot injury, having missed the last three games. Radu Dragusin is the only confirmed absentee.
We’ll wait for updates on any new absentees or the potential return of Heung-Min Son from Ange‘s press conference later tomorrow
Liverpool team news
Like Ange, Arne Slot too has the luxury of a near fully fit squad to choose from for the visit of Tottenham. There shouldn’t be too many changes to the Liverpool team, and he’ll likely name the strongest side available to him. Joe Gomez is the only confirmed absentee for now.
Predicted Tottenham line-up
Vicario, Porro, Danso, Davies, Udogie, Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison, Johnson, Solanke, Tel
As mentioned earlier, Ange Postecoglou is likely to rest some key players ahead of their semi-final clash against Bodo/Glimt next week. Much like in the match against Wolves, Archie Gray could get the nod at right-back.
A realistic possibility that would have been even more likely if if the turnaround between their previous fixture was lower. Five days is a good time, and Spurs have another five days before their semi-final. That’s just enough time for Pedro Porro to rest and avoid a burnout.
Romero and Van de Ven were both substituted at half-time against Nottingham after they conceded two goals in the first half. Danso and Davies, who were introduced for them, kept a clean sheet and were a better duo for that game.
An argument for that could be that Forest were a lot more passive in the second 45. Ange will likely keep Van de Ven rested, whereas Romero could retain his spot over either Danso or Davies. Van de Ven could still get an entire half.
As with Sarr, there could be a more tactical perspective here rather than resting his alternatives (Kulusevski and Bergvall). Bergvall may start over Sarr alongside Maddison who was forced off against Frankfurt in the second leg.
Heung-Min Son may not return for this fixture, and Ange will likely push Mathys Tel for another start, keeping Son for the semi-final instead.
The main factor we’ve used here in determining who starts is what lineup will Ange go with against Bodo/Glimt. And whoever doesn’t make that list will start here. But that still will lesser likely apply to less-injury-prone players like Porro and Romero, so this was a really hard one to predict.
Players to watch out for in Liverpool vs Tottenham
Guglielmo Vicario: That’s two straight league games with errors proving costly, but he loves playing against big sides. He hasn’t had the chance to feature against Liverpool even once this season despite Spurs playing them thrice. Forster started once, and Kinsky the other two. A clean sheet may be unlikely, but still not impossible. He’ll have a very busy night.
Dominic Solanke: He’s scored only twice this entire calendar year, but Solanke not showing up against his former sides? That’s a talking point. He’s faced Liverpool twice this season and has assisted in one while scoring in the other. I’ve already added him on my FPL.
Mohamed Salah: Speaking of FPL, you can’t not have Salah in your team. Against Spurs this season, he already has six goal contributions, with four of them coming in the reverse fixture alone. Even if you’re a Spurs fan, it will be a hard decision removing him from your Fantasy team this gameweek. Already at 55 goal contributions this season, he’ll want to strengthen his Ballon d’Or shout.
Luis Diaz: His 100th Liverpool appearance. Having scored twice against Spurs earlier in the season, he’ll be eyeing a goal and a title celebration.
Our prediction
It would be wrong to say that Spurs have nothing at all to play for in the Premier League, although part of that is still true. Tottenham have lost 18 Premier League games this season; only losing more in 1993-94 and 2003-04 (19 both times). They are mathematically safe from relegation, but a much-talked-about 17th-place finish will not be something Spurs want. A loss here, combined with a West Ham win, could see that nightmare become reality.
Anything apart from a defeat will mean Liverpool could lift the trophy in front of the Anfield Crowd. Now that everyone’s come to the conclusion that it will be party time at Merseyside for the hosts, it does feel like that, because many have already ruled out the possibility of Spurs winning this tie. And what better way and time for Spurs to ruin it; so that’s exactly what we’re going to predict:
Predicted score: Liverpool 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
COYS!
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