Spurs are on the kind of dry patch that only the dancefloor of Coppers could solve
Tottenham v Liverpool, Saturday 12.30pm, Sky Sports 1
Liverpool’s season has barely begun and already they have had more highs and lows than a Johnny Depp marriage. A thumping 4-3 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates was swiftly followed by a 2-0 defeat away to Burnley as the Kop faithful’s gleeful pre-season optimism swiftly disappeared. Jurgen Klopp’s side somewhat bounced back to form with a 5-0 thumping of Burton Albion in the League Cup, but it’s worth taking that result with an unhealthy dosage of salt.
The Reds can get things back on track in the league with yet another away day – their third on the spin – this time down at White Hart Lane in Saturday’s early kick-off. It’s a place where Liverpool have had significant success in recent times and Tottenham’s lack of fire-power can be their downfall again.
Spurs are on the kind of dry patch that only the dancefloor of Coppers could solve, and they have now played five hours and 44 minutes of league football at home to Liverpool in which they have failed to find the onion bag. In that same amount of time you could have almost squeezed in the first three Die Hard films and seen just as much mad-cap drama as you get playing Alberto Moreno at left-back.
Their last three home results to Liverpool include a 0-0 draw, a 3-0 defeat and a 5-0 hammering. That’s three games at WHL against Liverpool in which Spurs have scored no goals, but conceded eight times – Moreno even chipped in with one of those goals himself. Tottenham’s early season form would hardly fill you with confidence in this run ending either. They’ve scored a goal in each of their league games so far, but have notched just two from 33 attempts – giving them a conversion rate of just 6.06 per cent. Only five top flight teams have a lower conversion rate…
Harry Kane currenty looks like a man who still wakes up in a cold sweat each night having nightmares of Roy Hodgson asking him to take corners. His ‘Golden Touch’ hasn’t just left him, it’s packed its bags and is sipping cocktails on a beach somewhere far away. Crystal Palace conceded in 17 of their 19 away games last season, yet Tottenham struggled to break the Eagles down last week – it isn’t boding well for Manuel Pochettino’s men.
Spurs are the favourites for the match, but they haven’t beaten Liverpool in their last seven attempts. With that hoodoo in mind, punters might be tempted by the on Jurgen Klopp’s men picking up three points, and given Tottenham’s struggles in front of goal the on the Reds to win to nil might add a little spice to your Saturday.
Five of Liverpool’s eight wins on the road last season were by a single goal, and if you’re following the trends then the on Klopp’s men catches the eye. But if you’re the optimistic kind of punter who likes to get their Saturday off to a flyer, it’s 45/1 for Philippe Coutinho to get the goal in a 1-0 win for the Reds. Worth a quid?