Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool: Prediction, Team News, Lineup
Preview
English football will descend on Madrid this weekend when Tottenham Hotspur take on local rivals Liverpool in the final of the 2019 Champions League at the Wanda Metropolitan Stadium.
Both sides enjoyed unforgettable comeback victories in the semifinals and will now face each other to get the biggest prize in European club football: a trophy that Liverpool has lifted five times before, while the Spurs have never won it.
Tottenham
Eleven months after having more players in the semifinals of the World Cup than any other club, Tottenham Hotspur is preparing for the most important game in its history.
Even to have reached this stage is a feat that deserves enormous credit; The Londoners did not sign a single player last summer or in January, they had to deal with delays in their new stadium during the campaign and they also had that hangover for the progress of their players in the World Cup in Russia.
Even the most enthusiastic fans of Tottenham would not have waited for their dream until the end of this competition, and there would be a degree of irony if the Spurs ended their 11-year trophy drought with the biggest of them all.
The spouses seek to become the 23rd different side to raise the most coveted piece of silver, and the first new name in the trophy since Chelsea in 2012, having previously reached the semifinals of this competition on one occasion. in 1961-62.
Liverpool certainly has the advantage in terms of experience at this stage, then, but it is not a totally unexplored territory for the Spurs, who have achieved four previous European finals, including one against another English team, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final of the final of the UEFA Cup. from 1971-72.
The final of the Champions League is a completely different level, of course, and the Spurs will come to Madrid as losers, but they have already mocked the odds several times during their rollercoaster ride to the final.
In fact, the Spurs seemed destined for an early exit from the competition after getting only one point from their first three group games, only to then beat PSV Eindhoven and Inter Milan before securing a draw to Barcelona to seal their place in the eliminatory ones.
An impressive 4-0 aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund prepared another fully English quarterfinal match against Manchester City, which saw plenty of twists and turns as the Spurs progressed to away goals dramatically.
However, the spectacle of the semifinal even surpassed that, since the Spurs were three goals in total against Ajax with only 35 minutes of the tie. Enter Lucas Moura, who scored a remarkable hat-trick to complete a change that will never be forgotten by the Tottenham fans.
The road to Madrid has already been hectic and enjoyable for the Spurs, then, and the fact that they are playing such a familiar rival in the final, instead of the European names of a Real Madrid or Barcelona, could help them reach an agreement. The occasion.
It's not that your players can be intimidated; Captain Hugo Lloris took his country to the glory of the World Cup last summer, while Toby Alderweireld and Fernando Llorente have played in a Champions League final before.
However, Tottenham has never won in Spain before, drawing three and losing three of his last six visits, and his second-leg win over Ajax is one of two wins in his last eight games in all competitions.
In fact, Mauricio Pochettino's team has been hit 19 times this season, their biggest losses in a decade, including four defeats in the Champions League.
Despite that, Pochettino's current crop is only 90 minutes away from becoming immortal in the club's history and also by putting the Spurs into a group of elite teams that have won all three of the club's top club trophies. UEFA, along with Juventus, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester United.
Recent form of the Champions League: WWWLLW
Recent form (all competitions): WLLLWD
Liverpool
If Liverpool's run to the 2017-18 Champions League final was unexpected, their progress towards the key element of this season confirms their position at the top table of European football.
The Reds have reached the finals of the European Cup for the third time in their history, and only Juventus and Valencia have lost consecutive finals in this competition, a club in which Liverpool will be desperate to avoid joining.
Having fallen to defeat in a devastating way at the hands of Madrid in last year's final, the Jurgen Klopp team now hopes to put that in the Spanish capital, and this time will enter the game as favorites.
While in 2018 were their three strikers who sent them to the brink of glory, this time Liverpool seems a much more complete team. It is almost impossible to imagine Alisson Becker making the same mistakes as Loris Karius in Kiev, while in Virgil van Dijk, the Reds have a player voted by his teammates as the best of the Premier League this season.
The defensive improvement is perhaps the main reason why Liverpool could withstand such an impressive title challenge on the national front, incredibly only finishing as runner-up despite accumulating a club record of 97 points.
It would be hard to envy the Reds' cutlery at the end of such an impressive campaign, and they should arrive in Madrid full of confidence after having finished 26 points above the Spurs in the final table of the Premier League, in addition to beating them. twice. . finished.
Klopp's team also eliminated the favorites of the Barcelona tournament in the semifinals, producing one of the most famous nights in the illustrious Anfield history with a 4-0 victory to defeat their 3-0 first leg loss at the Camp. Nou. .
Liverpool hope that a return of this type will not be necessary this weekend, although they are no strangers to the drama of the European Cup final that achieved the 'Miracle of Istanbul' in 2005, the last time they won this trophy.
Saturday's success would give them a sixth European crown, double that of any other English club, and this will be their 21st European final in general, including three in the last three years.
Klopp has an unfortunate record in the finals to be won, however, he has lost every one of his last six games, including two in the Champions League, although Saturday's game will be the first of his chosen favorites. .
Liverpool's path to such occasions may be more traveled than that of Tottenham, but that does not mean it was easy and that they have almost suffered an exit from the group stage, with only one last breath from Alisson, except that Napoli kept them at the competition after losing three of its first five games.
Then, the Reds saw Bayern Munich and Oporto before that night against Barcelona, and they are the presentations of the round of 16 that can give them the greatest confidence in the Madrid show.
Liverpool also finished the national campaign in good form, winning their last nine Premier League games, and it is worth remembering that the only defeat they suffered in the top flight throughout the season came at home against eventual champion Man City.
However, ultimately, they know that Saturday's defeat would see a historic end to the campaign without the silver, and losing a national opponent would be a hugely disappointing way to end such an impressive season.
Recent form: WWLWWW
Recent form (all competitions): DWWWLW
Team news
Both teams have doubts about injuries to their main strikers, although it is expected that both Harry Kane and Roberto Firmino are ready to play.
Kane has returned to practice having not played since the first leg of the quarter-finals due to an ankle injury, and Pochettino must decide whether to shoot the England captain from the start.
Lucas, the hero of the semifinal hat-trick, could be the unfortunate player who gets lost in case Kane is considered fit, with Son Heung-min, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen likely not to be eliminated for such a big match .
Harry Winks is also pushing to get fit in time for the final after undergoing groin surgery last month, while Davinson Sánchez, Jan Vertonghen and Danny Rose are expected to have overcome minor fitness problems.
Klopp was positive about Firmino's potential aptitude, which means that the semi-final of Liverpool's hero, Divock Origi, is likely to be lost.
Georginio Wijnaldum changed the game when he came off the bench and score 2 goals
against Barcelona and should have done enough to win a starting role in midfield alongside Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
Naby Keita is definitely out of the game, but Andrew Robertson has overcome a problem in the calf and should start in a team that could only see a change in the semifinal of the second stage.
Sadio Mane is the Liverpool player with 13 goals in his last 16 matches for the club, and if he scores again on Saturday, he would become the eighth player to score in 2 separate finals in Champions League.
Tottenham possible lineup:
GK: Lloris
DEF: Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose
MID: Sissoko, Winks, Son, Alli, Eriksen
FW: Kane
Liverpool possible lineup:
GK: Alisson
DEF: Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson
MID: Henderson, Fabinho, Wijnaldum
FW: Salah, Firmino, Mane
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