Key events
25 min: Both goalkeepers are taking aeons over their goal-kicks, splitting their central defenders, passing the ball to one of them and then all three just stand around over the dead ball waiting Emi Martinez style for an opposition press that never comes. The cheapest adult season ticket prices at Tottenham are £856, in case you’d like to go and watch this nonsense on a regular basis.
21 min: Alert to impending danger, Micky van de Ven sprints out towards the left flank to prevent Ekitike controlling a low Florian Wirtz pass from deep. He puts the ball out for a throw-in. Liverpool win a corner but nothing comes of it. A vaguely promising Spurs counter-attack breaks down when Lucas Bergvall elects to turn and pass the ball backwards despite having teammates up in support. Like I said, cautious.
19 min: Djed Spence advances up the inside left and cuts inside Conor Bradley, who slips to give his opposite number a clear run on goal. The Spurs full-back is penalised for a foul and reacts furiously. He had found himself in a very promising position on the left side of the Liverpool box.
18 min: Spurs advance, with Liverpool’s players refusing to be drawn towards them in any sort of press. Pedestrian is probably the most apt term to describe the pace at which this match is currently being played. Both teams are being extremely cautious.
16 min: Porro launches the ball upfield and it’s trapped expertly by Kudus, who immediately undoes his good work by tripping over it. He had a couple of men in white shirts up in support.
15 min: Kudus picks out a Porro overlap and the Spaniard’s whipped cross from the right is headed well wide by Kolo Muani at the near post.
11 min: Florian Wirtz plays the ball out wide to Bradley, who overhits his cross into the Spurs penalty area. Spurs clear but referee John Brooks whistles for a foul when Mohammed Kudus leaps into Alexis Mac Allister without making any real effort to contest a high ball. Virgil van Dijk outjumps Micky van de Ven to meet Dominik Szoboszlai’s free-kick but nods the ball straight at Vicario.
8 min: Ibrahima Konate tries to send Ekitike on his way with a long ball forward from deep. Christian Romero has the Liverpool striker’s measure but does appear to wrestle him to the ground right on the edge of the Tottenham Hotspur penalty area. It was definitely a foul but no free-kick or penalty is awarded to the visitors.
7 min: Both sides are tentatively feeling their way into the game, which is a polite way of saying the opening few minutes have been extremely dull.
5 min: A cross from the right into the Liverpool penalty area is only half-cleared by Bradley and breaks kindly for Randal Kolo Muani in the penalty area. His snap shot is subsequently blocked by Liverpool’s young Northern Ireland international.
3 min: Hugo Ekitike goes down, holding his face after being caught by a stray right arm from Djed Spence as he gave the Liverpool striker the slip. There was no malice intended but it looked quite painful. He gets treatment and is OK to continue.
2 min: The ball’s played down the left touchline for Milos Kerkez to chase and he whips a low cross into the Tottenham penalty area. It fails to clear the first defender.
Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool is go …
1 min: Xavi Simons gets the ball rolling for Tottenham, rolling it back towards Guglielmo Vicario, who launches it upfield. Conor Bradley and then Pedro Porro also get early touches.
Not long now: Soundtracked by Duel of the Fates by John Williams and led by John Brooks and his team of match officials, both sets of players march on to the pitch and line up ahead of kick-off, which is just a couple of minutes away.
Together Against Suicide: Christmas can be an extremely difficult time of year for many people and it’s encouraging to see Tottenham’s players wearing special T-shirts during their warm-up.
They have “Together Against Suicide” printed on the front and the number of the Samaritans (116-123, for those in the UK) on the back. “Through Together Against Suicide, the Premier League and its clubs are supporting fans affected by suicide or suicidal thoughts,” reads the top flight’s website.
“Working in partnership with suicide prevention charity Samaritans, the League is committed to helping fans that need it most, with confidential support. Every suicide is a tragedy. Together we can make a difference.”
Premier League table: Manchester City’s 3-0 win over West Ham means they leapfrog Arsenal to go top of the table for a few hours at least. Having started the day in seventh and 11th places respectively, results earlier this afternoon mean Liverpool drop to eighth and Tottenham Hotspur are now 13th ahead of kick-off in North London.
Liverpool: Curtis Jones has revealed Mo Salah apologised to the Liverpool squad for the fallout from his interview criticising the club and Arne Slot before hightailing it to Morocco for Afcon. Andy Hunter reports …
Tottenham Hotspur: Thomas Frank has asked for time and patience from Tottenham fans who are increasingly frustrated by his team’s stodgy performances. Whether or not he is given either could well hinge on the performance of his team in tonight’s match, whatever the result. David Hytner reports …
Today’s match officials
Those teams: Hugo Ekitike starts up front for Liverpool, with Alexander Isak consigned to the bench for the third Premier League match in a row. Dominik Szoboszlai is fit enough to take his place in Liverpool’s midfield, while Conor Bradley returns from suspension to take his place at right-back. As expected, Jeremie Frimpong is among the substitutes.
Somewhat surprisingly, Thomas Frank makes just one change from the side that started against Nottingham Forest last weekend. Lucas Bergvall comes into midfield to facilitate Randal Kolo Muani’s move up front in place of Richarlison.
Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool line-ups
Tottenham: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Gray, Bentancur, Bergvall; Kudus, Kolo Muani, Simons.
Subs: Kinsky, Dragusin, Danso, Palhinha, Richalison, Tel, Johnson, Odobert, Davies.
Liverpool: Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Jones; Szoboszlai, Ekitike, Wirtz.
Subs: Mamardashvili, Isak, Chiesa, Robertson, Frimpong, Nyoni, Ramsay, Ngumoha, Lucky.
Early team news
James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, Radu Dragusin and Koto Takai remain sidelined for Tottenham, while Pape Mater Sarr and Yves Bissouma are away at Afcon.
As previously mentioned, Mo Salah is also away in Morocco with Egypt, while Dominik Szoboszlai, who along with Pedro Porro is one booking away from getting Christmas off, will undergo a late fitness test on the ankle injury that forced him off the pitch during Liverpool’s win over Brighton last weekend.
Joe Gomez has been ruled out with a hamstring injury, while Wataru Endo, Cody Gakpo and Giovanni Leoni are also unavailable. Conor Bradley is back from suspension and Jeremie Frimpong has been passed fit and will be in the squad after two months out.
Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the venue for today’s late-afternoon skirmish between two sides currently engaged in a spirited race to see who can look more profoundly confused by the concept of defending.
Spurs come into this one fresh from a 3-0 shellacking at the hands of Nottingham Forest, a performance that could scarcely have been more listless and ramped up the pressure on Thomas Frank. They are, of course, missing half a squad to injury and Afcon, with long-term absentees James Maddison and Dominic Solanke still inhabiting the treatment room, while Yves Bissouma (Mali) and Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal) enjoy the balmy warmth of West Africa—a luxury not afforded to Spurs fans currently shivering in North London.
Liverpool, meanwhile, arrive as defending champions in name only, their title defence having hit an iceberg somewhere around mid-October. While they are unbeaten in five in all competitinos, Arne Slot is still dealing with the fallout of the Salah-gate, but with the Egyptian King also away at Afcon, Liverpool’s Dutch head coach can at least focus on whether Hugo Ekitike can continue his one-man mission to prove that Alexander Isak is little more than a very expensive decoy.
The last time these two met, Liverpool won 5-1, but given both teams’ recent penchant for slapstick comedy at the back, we could be in for anything from a 0-0 snoozefest to a 12-goal thriller that leaves the tactical analysts needing a lie-down in a darkened room. Kick-off is at 5.30pm (GMT) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
