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
Memphis Grizzlies rally, nip Spurs on late block
- Luka Doncic and LeBron James both scored 30 points as Los Angeles won in New Orleans 111-103 to win their third straight
- Darius Garland posted 29 points and six assists as Cleveland won in Indianapolis, sending Indiana to their franchise-record 13th consecutive loss
NEW YORK: Cam Spencer scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and Santi Aldama blocked a potential game-winning shot by De’Aaron Fox with 5.2 seconds remaining to lift the Memphis Grizzlies to a 106-105 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.
Spencer gave the Grizzlies the lead with 37.3 seconds to go on a baseline jumper. A minute earlier, he had connected on a 3-pointer to trim San Antonio’s lead to 105-104. Jaren Jackson Jr. matched Spencer with 21 points and had nine rebounds. Jock Landale contributed 19 points and nine boards and Vince Williams Jr., returning from a lengthy injury absence, finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Victor Wembanyama came off the bench to lead the Spurs with 30 points. Julian Champagnie added 23 points and eight rebounds and Stephon Castle had 15 points and eight boards before fouling out with 3:13 to go.
The Grizzlies played without starters Ja Morant, Cedric Coward and Zach Edey. Morant missed his second straight game with a right calf contusion and his 18th game overall of the team’s 36 contests because of a variety of injuries. Coward sprained his left ankle in Sunday’s loss at the Lakers.
Lakers 111 Pelicans 103
Luka Doncic and LeBron James both scored 30 points as Los Angeles won in New Orleans to win their third straight. Doncic also had 10 assists while James had eight boards and eight assists.
Doncic had 11 first-quarter points and 16 at the half despite missing all six of his 3-point shots. Deandre Ayton paired 18 points with 11 rebounds as the Lakers opened the fourth on a 9-0 run to take control of the game.
Trey Murphy III had a career-high 42 points for New Orleans, who frittered away a position of strength to suffer their eighth successive defeat. Zion Williamson added 15 points and Derik Queen posted 10 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
Cavaliers 120 Pacers 116
Darius Garland posted 29 points and six assists as Cleveland won in Indianapolis, sending Indiana to their franchise-record 13th consecutive loss.
Evan Mobley had 20 points and Jarrett Allen finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have won four of their last five. Sam Merrill also scored 19. Cleveland won despite resting Donovan Mitchell, the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer at 29.8 points per game, and losing Dean Wade after eight minutes when he re-injured his left knee.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 22 points, Jay Huff scored 20 and Johnny Furphy had nine points and 11 rebounds. The Pacers’ most recent win was Dec. 8 over the Sacramento Kings. Indiana, which had lost 12 consecutive games four prior times since joining the NBA in 1976, owns the worst home record in the league at 5-15.
Timberwolves 122 Heat 94
Anthony Edwards scored 26 points in 29 minutes, and Minnesota cruised to a win over Miami in Minneapolis.
Jaden Daniels added 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting for Minnesota, which won its third game in a row. Julius Randle (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Rudy Gobert (13 points, 17 rebounds) each registered double-doubles, and Naz Reid scored 14 points off the bench.
Norman Powell. Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware grabbed 11 rebounds apiece. One bright spot for the Heat was the return of Tyler Herro, who played for the first time since Dec. 9. He showed no signs of a right big toe injury as he finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench.
Wizards 120 Magic 112
CJ McCollum scored 27 points and Alex Sarr added 23 to go along with eight rebounds, fueling host Washington past Orlando. Justin Champagnie had 17 points off the bench for Washington, who made 31 of 33 shots from the free- throw line.
Bilal Coulibaly recorded 14 points, eight rebounds and five steals for the Wizards, who have won five of their last seven.
Orlando rookie Jase Richardson scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. Desmond Bane scored 15 points, Paolo Banchero had 14 and Tristan da Silva added 13 for the Magic, who committed 19 turnovers that led to 29 points by Washington. The Magic whittled a 26-point deficit down to two late in the game, but a 10-2 Wizards run sealed their victory.
