The Reds are still without a win in the Premier League this calendar year, with last weekend's 2-0 defeat by relegation-threatened Hull City the nadir of 2017 so far. Jurgen Klopp's charges have lost their mojo in the last few weeks, falling from title contenders to fifth place since their 1-0 win against Manchester City on New Year's Eve; they will need to improve significantly as soon as possible if they are to qualify for next season's Champions League, although Liverpool's unbeaten record against their fellow top-six sides in 2016/17 provides at least one source of optimism ahead of Saturday's showdown with Spurs.
Spurs climbed above north London rivals Arsenal and into second spot with a 1-0 triumph over Middlesbrough last time out. Mauricio Pochettino's men are in fine form at present, having gone 11 games without defeat in all competitions, and also possess the best defensive record in the division - no team can match their record of just 16 goals conceded in their 24 top-flight encounters. A nine-point deficit separating them from league leaders Chelsea is probably too large to bridge, though, so Spurs will instead be fully focused on securing a place in the Champions League for the second successive season.
Liverpool may have to make do without Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan, who are both major doubts, while Marko Grujic and Danny Ings will definitely be absent. Sadio Mane has now returned from the Africa Cup of Nations and will be relied upon for his speed and direct running on the right-hand side of the pitch, with Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho also set to be tasked with causing problems in the final third. At the back, Joel Matip will have to be at his best to keep Harry Kane quiet.
Tottenham, meanwhile, will be unable to call upon the services of Danny Rose, Kieran Trippier, Jan Vertonghen, Georges-Kevin N'Koudou and Erik Lamela. Son Heung-min's excellent performance in the victory over Boro means he is likely to keep his place in the starting XI, which should lead to Pochettino keeping faith with the 4-2-3-1 formation that was employed against Aitor Karanka's strugglers. Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama will be extremely important figures in the centre of midfield, while Son will be joined in attack by Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Kane.
Taking everything into account, it is probably worth putting your money behind a draw in Saturday's crunch clash between these two top-four contenders at Anfield. Tottenham are awkward to play against and will cause problems with their high-tempo style of play, but Liverpool possess many of the same qualities and should be good enough to pick up a point. A draw with both teams to score could therefore be the way to go in this one, while Kane would represent a sensible choice to find the net first.
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