LONDON: Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur will be separated by just two points, but united in one ambition when they meet at Anfield on Sunday with a top-four finish imperative for both.
Failing to earn a Champions League place could stall the steady progress overseen by Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino.
Klopp’s men hold a marginal advantage as they sit third, two points ahead of Spurs, who are fifth, as the race to finish in the three places behind runaway leaders Manchester City intensifies with Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal also in contention.
“With the situation in the table, our targets, what we want to do and where we want to finish the season, it’s clear it is a very important game,” Klopp said on Friday. “These are kind of six-point games.”
However, while Premier League clubs splashed out a record £430 million ($612 million) in the January transfer window, Liverpool and Tottenham were more discerning than their rivals for the top four places.
Despite making Virgil van Dijk the most expensive defender in football history through a £75 million move from Southampton, Liverpool still closed the window with a huge profit following the sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for £142 million.
Likewise, in spite of Lucas Moura’s late capture on deadline day from Paris Saint-Germain, Spurs remain in the bottom half of the Premier League table when it comes to net spend on transfers this season.
That relative lack of financial muscle, in particular compared to the two Manchester clubs, explains why Klopp and Pochettino have been widely lauded for the jobs they have done despite so far failing to win any silverware in England.
The need to keep moving forward makes qualifying for the Champions League a minimum goal.
“With Jurgen Klopp I think there will be pressure this time next year depending on where Liverpool are,” former Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports.
“But if he gets Champions League football this season I think it’s a very good season for Liverpool.
“You can talk about trophies and winning the Premier League, but Liverpool have got to get back to being a Champions League club. Liverpool have been in the Champions League twice in 10 years.”
The similarities don’t stop there as both sides have played some outstanding football but been plagued by inconsistency.
Liverpool inflicted City’s only Premier League defeat of the season in thrilling fashion 4-3 two weeks ago, only to follow up by losing to Swansea in the league and West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup.
A dominant 2-0 win over Manchester United in midweek got Spurs back in the hunt for the top four and was reminiscent of the displays that swept Liverpool and Madrid aside at Wembley earlier in the campaign.
However, recent draws with Southampton, who are in the bottom three, and West Ham, continued a habit of dropping crucial points against struggling teams.
The prospect of missing out on Champions League football would be even more untimely with Spurs set to move into a new 61,500-capacity stadium next season and only further fuel rumors that Pochettino, Harry Kane and Dele Alli, all reportedly courted by Real Madrid, could be tempted away.
Spurs are boosted by the return of two internationals, Ivorian Serge Aurier and England’s Harry Winks, from injury, but Moura isn’t expected to start at Anfield having made just six appearances all season for PSG.
Van Dijk is set to return to the Liverpool line-up after being rested in midweek with Dejan Lovren, who was substituted after just 31 minutes of Liverpool’s 4-1 thrashing at Spurs back in October, dropping out.
Champions League points at stake when Liverpool host Tottenham
Champions League points at stake when Liverpool host Tottenham
Al-Hilal’s 13-game winning streak halted after draw with Al-Riyadh
- Al-Riyadh held the league leaders to a 1-1 draw thanks to an Ibrahim Bayesh equalizer
- Al-Qadsiah keep the pressure on with 3-1 victory over Al-Najma
RIYADH: Al-Hilal’s 13-game winning streak in the Saudi Pro League came to an end on Matchday 18 after a 1-1 draw with Al-Riyadh on Sunday.
Daniel Carreno, no stranger to Al-Hilal after leading city rivals Al-Nassr to the league title at their expense in 2014, set up his side impeccably as they denied the leaders a seven-point cushion at the summit.
Despite boasting the leakiest defence in the league, conceding 37 goals in 17 games, Al-Riyadh delivered arguably their best performance of the season against Simone Inzaghi’s side.
They proved tough to break down, with goal-line clearances from Yoann Barbet, last-ditch blocks from Marzouq Tambakti and a solid display from goalkeeper Milan Borjan keeping Al-Hilal at bay.
Around the 25th minute, Al-Riyadh began to grow into the game. However, it was at that moment that Al-Hilal struck, with Malcom breaking down the right flank before delivering a dipping ball to Darwin Nunez.
His touch fell kindly to Marcos Leonardo, who finished into an open net.
Al-Hilal then settled into control, although they lacked much of their usual ball-playing quality in the absence of Ruben Neves and Salem Al-Dawsari.
Malcom operated in a free-flowing role, popping up across the pitch, but despite his assist it was largely a frustrating half for the Brazilian.
Filling a dual role in Neves’s absence was Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Alongside his attacking duties, charging from deep into the final third, the Serbian maestro was also tasked with dictating play from midfield.
With Al-Riyadh offering little going forward in the first half, Carreno shifted his relegation-threatened side’s approach after the break.
They became far more purposeful in possession, creating danger in the 58th minute. From a corner, Toze delivered a cross that found Ibrahim Bayesh, who bundled the ball over the line to equalize.
Minutes later, Inzaghi refreshed Al-Hilal’s attacking options with the introductions of Al-Dawsari and Kaio Cesar.
The Blues were left to rue a series of missed chances, with Al-Dawsari striking the post and Borjan producing a fine save to deny Darwin Nunez.
Al-Riyadh were handed a late scare in stoppage time when Tambakti was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for time-wasting.
Moments later, Al-Hilal thought they had found a winner when substitutes Cesar and Al-Dawsari combined in the box, only for the assistant referee to raise his flag for offside.
After the draw, Al-Hilal remain top but their lead has been cut to five points over nearest challengers Al-Ahli. Al-Riyadh stay in the relegation zone, now level on points with Damac in 15th.
Elsewhere, Al-Qadsiah held off a second-half Al-Najma resurgence to secure a 3-1 victory, with goals from Julian Quinones and Mateo Retegui steering them to all three points. Brendan Rodgers’ side move up to third temporarily, just six points behind Al-Hilal on 39 points.
Meanwhile, Al-Fayha and Al-Fateh met in Al-Majma’ah, where the hosts claimed a late 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Sabri Abu Dahal and Fashion Sakala.
Action resumes on Monday with the final three fixtures of Matchday 18. Al-Hazem face Damac, before Al-Ittihad welcome Al-Okhdood in Jeddah and Al-Nassr host Al-Taawoun in Riyadh.
