Tottenham vs. Liverpool: Complete Preview, Injury Update and Projected Lineup

Tony MabertJun 2, 2018

Tottenham Hotspur host Liverpool on Wednesday night in one of several potentially pivotal games in a full round of midweek Premier League fixtures.

Depending on results elsewhere, a home win could move Spurs up into the top six.

Liverpool, currently 11th, would just be happy to end the week in the top half of the table.

Here's a look at the head-to-head, team news and potential lineups for Wednesday night's clash.

Head-to-Head

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This will be the 139th league meeting between Tottenham and Liverpool since they first met back in 1909. Since that inaugural fixture—a 1-0 win for the Londoners in the capital—Spurs have won 40 and lost 63 of those encounters.

However, recent history has seen the rise of Tottenham and the fall of Liverpool happen concurrently, and that is reflected in their results over the last few years.

Liverpool have only beaten Spurs in their last six meetings—losing four and drawing one of the other five—and they have lost all five of their visits to White Hart Lane since their last victory there in May 2008.

That last visit did not end well for the Reds, as they lost 4-0 and had Charlie Adam and Martin Skrtel both sent off. That drubbing represented the third match in a row in which Liverpool had failed to score against Spurs.

And, of course, no preview of this fixture would be complete without the following fact: Jamie Carragher has scored three Premier League goals for Liverpool, the same number of own goals he has scored against them for Spurs.

Tottenham Team News

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France international Hugo Lloris has now played in each of Tottenham's last three matches, indicating that his transition to becoming the club's first-choice goalkeeper may be in process. However, veteran keeper Brad Friedel being recalled to face his former club cannot be fully ruled out.

Michael Dawson was selected for the West Ham game in order to counteract the aerial threat of Andy Carroll. However, either William Gallas is likely to return against Liverpool or Jan Vertonghen, who is currently filling in for the injured Benoit Assou-Ekotto at left-back, will move back into the centre of defence with Kyle Naughton dropping in.

Emmanuel Adebayor will serve the second game of his three-mach ban for his red card against Arsenal, so in-form striker Jermain Defoe will lead the line once more.

Mousa Dembele's return as a 79th-minute substitute in the West Ham game gives hope that the Belgian could start in midfield on Wednesday.

Scott Parker, the man who would normally be expected to fill the role Dembele has settled into at Spurs, is back in light training following the Achilles injury that has keep him from playing since the summer. However, it is unlikely that the England international will be available for another couple of weeks.

Liverpool Team News

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Like Tottenham, Liverpool only have one fit senior striker available, so Premier League top scorer Luis Suarez will once again be under pressure to provide the goals for his team.

He could be supported by Raheem Sterling and Suso, the Spanish forward who was rested in the goalless draw at Swansea City on Sunday, as the Reds continue their gruelling run of four games in 10 days.

Young defender Andre Wisdom sat out during the weekend with a knee injury that forced him off early during last Thursday's 2-2 draw with Young Boys in the Europa League, but he could return to the squad for the trip to London.

Midfielder Lucas Leiva is making good progress with the thigh injury that has kept him out of action since August, but the Brazilian is still a little away from his long-awaited return.