Desperate Spurs Face Hard Test at Anfield | OneFootball

The desperation of Spurs’ situation means Igor Tudor is already facing the prospect of losing his job – only a month after his appointment was confirmed.

Injury Woes and Poor Results

Tudor has been at the helm for four games in all competitions, and lost them all. His first game was a 4-1 north London derby loss to Arsenal, followed by league losses to Fulham and Crystal Palace, and most recently a 5-2 drubbing in the Champions League at the hands of Atlético Madrid.

Tudor was brought in to inspire the players and provide the club with a new manager bounce, but it has not panned out that way.

In fact, it has gone so badly that Spurs are already believed to be weighing up turning to a new manager as they desperately look to avoid a humiliating relegation.

Spurs are currently 16th, and only one point above 18th-placed West Ham. The threat of relegation could hardly be more real.

With only nine league games to go, each one will count, and the Croatian will have to try and do the job with a long list of injuries.

He told the media that João Palhinha and Cristian Romero will not play against Liverpool after clashing heads against Atlético: “No, no. They are out. Micky [van de Ven] is also out. [Yves] Bissouma is out with a muscle injury. Conor Gallagher has some fever, but probably will be in.”

That Old Black Magic?

It currently feels as though everything is going against Spurs, so much so that Tudor even felt the need to deny any supernatural goings-on.

“You know, I do every day this work. Psychology work. It is important also to give the courage to the team-mates. Some of them they cannot manage, for sure. Some of them you arrive and you can help them. My goal is to find if I can help 18 players out of 20, 15 maybe?

“Sometimes you cannot do anything, but most of the time you can do even small changes. Small help, you know, you can do it, but also it’s what I always like to say to the players – don’t be a victim. Don’t think it’s about me.

“You know that can be the problem. All these things about Tottenham and the club, like magic on the club, like bad black magic and this other bullsh*t, you know. So this is about what I want to send a message.”

The Tottenham fans will be pleased to hear Tudor deny there is black magic on the club, but they will likely need some form of magic to beat Liverpool this weekend.

Liverpool Not Great; Could Be Worse

The Reds are in good league form, and have won three of their last four games. They are currently sixth, level on points with Chelsea who are fifth.

It seems as though the Premier League will once again be given five Champions League spots in next season’s competition, but Liverpool will have to leapfrog at least one of the teams above them to secure their place in the UCL.

Arne Slot’s men were one of eight English teams who failed to win in Europe this week, losing 1-0 in Turkey to Galatasaray.

The result signalled the latest disappointment in what has no doubt been an underwhelming season for the Reds. But it was actually in this exact fixture last season that Liverpool confirmed their fate as Premier League champions.

They beat Tottenham 5-1 at Anfield in late April last year to win their 20th English title. Sadly for them, such riches are not on the line this time around, but there is a lot at stake still.

The stats are on Liverpool’s side going into the game. They have lost just one of their last 31 home league games against Tottenham, and Spurs have picked up only one Premier League point from the last possible 18 that were available.

If they were to lose against Spurs, it would mark their 10th league defeat of the campaign however. They have not lost that many games in a league season since 2015/16.

Nevertheless, Spurs’ position is a stark reminder that things could be a whole lot worse.