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
Lola Yamaha ABT look for pace and points under the lights in Jeddah
- After missing points in Miami, team hope for better showing
- Working hard, say drivers Zane Maloney and Lucas di Grassi
JEDDAH: Lola Yamaha ABT are returning to race under the lights of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, where they are hoping to add to their points tally for season 12 of the Formula E World Championship this Friday and Saturday.
Situated alongside the Red Sea, the 19-turn, 3-km track features a long start and finish straight, technical chicanes and sweeping turns. The Saudi Arabian doubleheader will once again be at night.
And also host the first pit-boost race of season 12 where very driver must complete a 30-second, 600-kilowatt boost in the pitlane, giving an extra 10 percent of energy.
Last time in Miami, the team showed good pace throughout the weekend where they narrowly missed out on points, with Zane Maloney finishing 11th and Lucas di Grassi 13th, but they are hopeful for Jeddah.
“After a generally positive race in Miami, where we were much more competitive, I’m looking forward to taking to the track again in Jeddah,” di Grassi said.
“Racing at night always presents different challenges, with changes in temperature and lighting.
“With not much time between these races, we’ve been putting in the hours in the sim (simulator) to ensure we are as prepared as possible to maximize on the improvements seen last time out.”
Maloney said: “Although we narrowly missed out on points in Miami, it was a positive weekend for the team with good pace that shows we are moving in the right direction.
“Jeddah is a fast, technical circuit, which will test the team in different ways, particularly with the addition of the first pit boost of the season. However, we’ve been working hard in the short race gap and I’m confident we can be in the mix to score points this weekend.”
“We saw positive steps forward with organization and processes behind the scenes in Miami and this showed with good race pace which we are hoping to translate to points here in Jeddah,” said Mark Preston, team principal of Lola Yamaha ABT.
