MY ACCOUNT
Ryan Mason is looking for Tottenham to pick up where they left off in Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United when they visit Liverpool on Sunday.
Mason took over Cristian Stellini’s responsibilities as acting head coach this week, with the Italian dismissed following a dismal 6-1 defeat to Newcastle United.
While Mason’s second stint as interim boss started poorly as United raced into a 2-0 lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a rousing second-half fightback saw Spurs clinch an unlikely draw.
Tottenham’s failure to beat United may have killed their slim hopes of Champions League qualification, but Mason wants to see a similar performance at Anfield.
“In football, negativity can spread very quickly, but so can positivity,” he said.
“If you create a good feeling and energy, it can accelerate a process. Hopefully we’ll continue with what we saw in the second half.
“We were together, we had belief in what we were doing and it’s important we continue in this way.
“When you have a result like we did last Sunday, there should be anger. I wanted to see an angry team.”
Seventh-placed Liverpool are one point behind Spurs with a game in hand, and the two Premier League giants now appear to be fighting for Europa League football after enduring poor campaigns.
However, the Reds have posted three successive wins ahead of Sunday’s game, though boss Jurgen Klopp believes they still have other gears to find.
“I liked big parts of the games, not all of it of course,” Klopp said.
“There’s always something to improve, and that’s fine and that’s what we’ll try to do now.
“I’m absolutely okay in this moment but it’s not like I already trust us so much that I’ll say, ‘that’s it now, we’re out of the woods.’
“This season gave us a few lessons I didn’t want to learn, but I learned. We have to stay super focused.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Liverpool – Mohamed Salah
Salah has been involved in 11 goals in his last eight home games in all competitions (eight goals, three assists), scoring at least once on each of his last six appearances at Anfield.
The last Liverpool player to score in more consecutive games at Anfield was Luis Suarez, who found the net in eight successive matches there between April 2013 and January 2014.
Tottenham – Son Heung-min
Six of Tottenham’s last seven Premier League goals against Liverpool have been scored by either Harry Kane or Son, with the two forwards hitting three goals apiece during that span.
Son’s tally of nine Premier League goals this term is a disappointing one given he shared the Golden Boot with Salah last season, but he will hope Thursday’s equaliser against United can act as a turning point.
MATCH PREDICTION – LIVERPOOL WIN
Liverpool have lost just one of their last 20 Premier League games against Spurs (W13 D6), with the Reds unbeaten in their last 10 since a 4-1 loss at Wembley Stadium in October 2017.
The omens are not good for Tottenham as they hit the road for the first time since being routed at St James’ Park – they have conceded 31 away goals in the Premier League this season, already their most in a single campaign since 2008-09 (35).
Klopp’s hosts come into this game having won three successive Premier League matches, despite conceding in each of those contests. Their last four-game winning run in the competition came between November and December last year, when they also conceded in each of their victories.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Liverpool – 55.2 per cent
Tottenham – 20.0 per cent
Draw – 24.8 per cent
