Liverpool goes into the weekend with a lot of pressure on the shoulders. The club takes on Tottenham and will be looking to secure the first league win of 2017. Towards the end of 2016, manager Jurgen Klopp was extremely delighted with the way his team had kept pace with Chelsea, despite the blues going on a run of 13 consecutive wins. Since then, however, Liverpool have fallen 13 points behind Antonio Conte’s team. Tottenham have taken charge as the contenders for the title. They will be the visitors to Anfield, as they look to pile more misery on Liverpool.
Midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, though, thinks that Liverpool will be able to finally shake off the poor form and secure the first win. Wijnaldum had a slow start to his time at Anfield, but he has started delivering on a consistent basis. The former Newcastle United midfielder has scored in some of the big games this season including the 1-1 draw with Chelsea two weeks ago. He is of the opinion that Liverpool will find it easy to play in such big games because little motivation is required.
“To be fair, in the big games it’s been the best kind of football we’ve played this season, so I think it’s easier for everyone to perform in those kind of games. Wijnaldum told Sportinglife.com
“I don’t think it’s only me, but the whole team. It makes it easier for me because if we deliver as a team, it is easier for each player to show their quality – and that’s what I’ve had in the big games.”
While the possibility of a title may already be ruled out, Liverpool are in the danger of finishing the campaign outside the top four. It would represent a massive fall from the lofty positions that the occupied in the first half of the campaign. Manager Jurgen Klopp’s decision to use young players in the cup matches like the FA Cup and the EFL Cup has also come back to bite him. Liverpool do not have anything to play for in the rest of the campaign.
Spurs, however, seem to have put behind the poor form experienced in the months of November and October behind them completely. The club are in a great position to assert themselves as the proper title challengers with a victory at Anfield. Mauricio Pochettino’s men returned to winning ways with a narrow 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough in the previous game. This brought an end to 2 consecutive draws, although one was against Manchester City. Since the 1-0 loss against Manchester United in the middle of December, Tottenham have been on a roll.
One of the few chinks in the armour of Spurs happens to be the away form – the team has managed just two wins in the last five away games. This does not bode well ahead of the trip to Anfield, where Liverpool have suffered only one loss in the 15 games against teams like Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, and Manchester City.
