Things to watch for when Liverpool plays Tottenham in the Premier League

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Rush The Kop or go back to LFC Live.

Tottenham in particular has consistently delivered fireworks whenever these sides have met in recent memory.Both of their games last season — a 6–3 goal fest in London and a 5–1 win for the Reds that officially crowned them Premier League champions — were electric, and another highly charged encounter should be expected on Saturday.In fact, you’d have to go all the way back to a 1–0 Liverpool win in January 2020 to find the last league meeting in which one side failed to score; whatever it is about this fixture, goals tend to follow.With the Reds pushing to climb back into the top four and Thomas Frank searching for answers as Spurs have won just once in their last five league matches, what should fans be watching for ahead of this crucial clash?Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool - Carabao Cup Semi Final First Leg | Andrew Kearns - CameraSport/GettyImages1. Can Liverpool's defense finally post a clean sheet against Spurs?As mentioned earlier, Liverpool have not kept Tottenham scoreless in a Premier League meeting for nearly six years — and Saturday would feel like the perfect time to end that drought.The Reds are currently on a two-game run of clean sheets, holding both Inter Milan and Brighton scoreless in their last two matches.

Spurs have clearly posed problems for Liverpool’s defense in recent years, but given Inter’s immense quality up front and the fact that Brighton sit higher in the table than Saturday’s opponent, hoping for another clean sheet does not feel like a huge ask.Tottenham boast no shortage of attacking talent in the likes of Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons, but they are coming off a frustrating 3–0 shutout loss to Nottingham Forest their last time out — a match that may have offered Liverpool valuable insight into how to disrupt Spurs’ forwards.Fortunately for the Reds, while Virgil van Dijk has continued to be a dominant force — recently becoming the first defender in Europe’s five major leagues to reach 100 headed clearances — Ibrahima Konaté has also turned in two excellent performances against Inter and Brighton after being one of the most inconsistent players in the team. Beyond offering a reliable defensive option, Gomez has been a pleasant surprise going forward, already registering two assists this season.Liverpool have recently struggled to keep Tottenham off the board, but with an uptick in positive trends across the back four and the impressive form Gomez has shown lately, there’s reason to believe the defense can get the job done.Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool - Carabao Cup Semi Final First Leg | Liverpool FC/GettyImages2.

How will Liverpool cope with recent injuries and departures?With Cody Gakpo sidelined for several weeks due to injury, Mohamed Salah away on AFCON duty, and the real possibility that Dominik Szoboszlai could miss Saturday’s fixture with a knock, how might Arne Slot best address these gaps in the lineup?Starting with the wings, while it’s been said many times before, this finally feels like the opportunity to deploy Federico Chiesa on the right and give him a chance to make an impact with increased minutes compared to the limited time he’s seen so far this season.While Salah is undoubtedly the higher-quality player, the Egyptian tallied five goal contributions in the two league fixtures against Spurs last season, Tottenham have shown vulnerability defending Liverpool’s attacks from the right, meaning Chiesa could have plenty of opportunities to make an impact himself.On the left, while it’s tempting to give youngster Rio Ngumoha some minutes, it makes sense to slot Florian Wirtz into this role given the high-profile stakes of the match. While joining an exclusive club with Suárez seems mathematically unlikely, you can be sure he’ll be hungry to etch his name into club history.Even a single goal from him would provide a huge boost, and Liverpool’s record with Ekitike starting versus when he doesn’t underscores just how important he's been to the team.So far this campaign, the Reds have won 70% of their games (7/10) when he starts, averaging two goals per match, compared to just 16.7% (1/6) wins and an average of one goal when he doesn’t — highlighting his significant impact on both Liverpool’s attack and overall results.Few could have predicted just how essential the former Frankfurt striker would become for Liverpool in his very first season, especially with already established Premier League star Alexander Isak still finding his footing on Merseyside.