With the first international break of the season now behind us, the focus now shifts back to the Premier League and it is fair to say that we will be treated to a blockbuster fixture this Saturday lunchtime as Tottenham play host to Liverpool at Wembley.
This was meant to be the first ever game to be played at Tottenham’s new stadium, however delays in the project have meant that the North London outfit have had to revert back to their temporary home of last season.
However, that could well prove to be something of a good omen as last October saw Tottenham demolish Liverpool at the very same ground by a score of four goals to one. A game that Croatian international defender Dejan Lovren will want to forget.
So bad was his performance that he was hauled off by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp after just 30 minutes on the clock. It was certainly an off day for not just Lovren, but for the whole of the Liverpool team that afternoon.
That said the Merseyside outfit will be coming into this game with their tails up as they entered the international hiatus on not only maximum points, but also top of the Premier League table after the first four matches of the season.
It was a tally that Tottenham would have been expected to get after winning their opening three matches, but then a somewhat surprise defeat to Watford nearly a fortnight ago sees them start this fixture fifth in the table.
With a game of this magnitude coming so early in the season, it would be remiss to say that it is a must win fixture. That said the stakes are already high going into this one, Tottenham can ill afford defeat as they will then see a six-point gap between themselves and Liverpool.
There is obviously a lot of football that is going to be played between now and the culmination of the season next May, at the same though a win for Liverpool would certainly lay down a marker and increase their confidence in regard to landing a first title since 1990.
When the Premier League resumes after an international break there is always a question off just who fit key players will be, especially if they have played just a handful of days before a big encounter such as this.
Tottenham may have the edge here as Harry Kane was rested for the England friendly against Switzerland, while midfielder Dele Alli missed out completely due to suffering a minor muscle injury in preparation for that fixture.
Alli is expected to be fit for the visit of Liverpool and the fact that both he and Kane will be relatively rested for the game might just give the home side the advantage. One that they will need to take if they are to bounce back from defeat to Javi Gracia’s Watford side.
It’s not going to be as easy for Tottenham as it was last season, but they will be confident of pushing this red-hot Liverpool side as far as they can. If Harry Kane can show the sharpness of last year, then all signs point to a home win.