Liverpool will be looking to make up ground in the top-four race when they visit Wembley to take on Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Both teams enjoyed good away results in the Champions League on Tuesday, but four points separate them in the Premier League table heading into this weekend.
Tottenham
© SilverHubThere was plenty of speculation regarding whether Tottenham Hotspur could maintain their fine form of the past two seasons heading into this campaign during a comparatively quiet transfer window, but so far they have answered those questions convincingly.
Only the two Manchester clubs have amassed more Premier League points over the opening eight games of the season, with Spurs sitting third in the table and five points adrift of early leaders Manchester City.
Winning a first league title since 1961 remains the dream for Mauricio Pochettino and his players, but priority number one this season will be to once again qualify for the Champions League and they already enjoy a four-point gap over London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea, in addition to Liverpool.
Spurs certainly showed that they can mix it with Europe's elite in midweek when they went to the Bernabeu and earned a 1-1 draw against Champions League holders Real Madrid, leaving them top of Group H and very well placed to qualify from what looked like the most difficult group in the tournament.
Pochettino's side are now 10 matches unbeaten since their solitary defeat of the campaign - at home to Chelsea in August - winning seven of those games and keeping six clean sheets in the process.
The main lingering question about Tottenham's title credentials remains over their home form; Spurs have picked up just five points from four league games at Wembley this season, compared to a perfect record of four wins from four on the road. If only home form counted, Sunday's hosts would be languishing in the bottom half of the table.
Last weekend's 1-0 win over Bournemouth finally ended the wait for that first league triumph at their temporary home, but neither the scoreline nor the performance were as convincing as many would have expected in a home match against a team in the relegation zone.
Harry Kane's struggles at home have replicated those of the team as a whole, with the striker still looking for his first league goal at Wembley. The England international has had 28 shots without scoring in front of his own fans, compared to six goals from 22 shots on the road.
Kane is too good to let that curious quirk go on for too much longer, and now would be an ideal time for him to find his scoring boots at Wembley - Tottenham take on Liverpool, West Ham United and Real Madrid in their next three home matches, with an away trip to Manchester United thrown into the mix next weekend.
Even with that home drought, Kane has been responsible for half of his side's goals in all competitions this season, and if he is on form against a shaky Liverpool defence this weekend then it may be enough to fire Spurs to a third straight win at Wembley for the first time.
Recent Premier League form: DWDWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWD
Liverpool
© SilverHubIt has been a frustrating period for Liverpool in recent weeks, with Jurgen Klopp's side failing to turn dominance into results in many of their recent matches to slip down the Premier League table.
Those frustrations were taken out on poor old Maribor in midweek, though, as Liverpool finally delivered the pasting that they have threatened to give a number of teams already this season.
Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and even Trent Alexander-Arnold were all on the scoresheet as the Reds ran riot in Slovenia, winning 7-0 to set a new record for the biggest ever Champions League away victory by an English club.
Things will not be quite as straightforward against Tottenham, of course, but the result did prove that once Liverpool get firing - even without the injured Sadio Mane - then they are very hard to stop.
Klopp's record against fellow top-six opposition is well worn by now, but it is worth updating following last weekend's goalless draw at home to a defensive Manchester United. The German has now lost only two of his 21 meetings against direct rivals, neither of which came at the hands of Tottenham.
Liverpool's defensive frailties have also filled plenty of column inches, although the main concern heading into Sunday's match will be that their record is poorest on the road. Eleven of the 12 goals Liverpool have conceded in the Premier League this season have come in away matches, although Tuesday's rout of Maribor did provide them with a first away clean sheet of the season.
Victory on Sunday would hand Liverpool back-to-back wins for the first time since August, but they have won just one of their last five Premier League games and no other team has drawn more matches than them in the division so far, with half of their outings ending all square.
In the grand scheme of things, a draw away to an in-form Tottenham side may not be a bad result on Sunday, although Liverpool do need to make up ground having now slipped nine points behind leaders Manchester City.
Defeat at Wembley could leave the gap to the top four at five points too, so despite being less than a quarter of the way into the season, the stakes are still high for Liverpool.
Recent Premier League form: WLDWDD
Recent form (all competitions): LWDDDW
Team News
© SilverHubSpurs will once again be without Mousa Dembele for this match, with the Belgian midfielder having suffered a setback in his recovery from injury during training this week.
Ben Davies faces a race to be fit in time having missed the match in Madrid through illness, but he is expected to be available alongside Georges-Kevin Nkoudou, who has recovered from concussion. Danny Rose could also be in contention, though, having returned from 10 months out to put in a late cameo at the Bernabeu.
Erik Lamela and Victor Wanyama are longer-term absentees, but the likes of Kieran Trippier, Dele Alli and Son Heung-min will be hopeful of recalls having missed out in Madrid.
Liverpool, meanwhile, remain without Mane, despite the winger being named in the Senegal squad for next month's World Cup qualifiers while struggling with a hamstring injury.
Adam Lallana returned to Melwood following treatment in Qatar earlier this week, but he is not expected back until after the next international break while Nathaniel Clyne is also a long-term absentee.
Simon Mignolet, Jordan Henderson and Joe Gomez will be hopeful of earning their places back having sat out the win over Maribor, but James Milner's impressive display in Slovenia could earn him just a third Premier League start of the season.
Tottenham possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Sanchez, Alderweireld, Vertonghen; Trippier, Dier, Winks, Davies; Eriksen, Kane, Alli
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Mignolet; Gomez, Matip, Lovren, Moreno; Milner, Henderson, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Coutinho
Head To Head
Despite Tottenham having finished above Liverpool in seven of the past eight seasons, it is the Reds who have dominated the fixture in recent years.
Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 10 meetings across all competitions, winning seven of those and scoring 24 goals in the process - including 21 of the last 25 goals scored in top-flight games between the two sides.
Tottenham's last win over Liverpool was a 2-1 triumph in November 2012, since when they have lost two and drawn two of their home matches, conceding 10 goals and scoring just two in reply.
The corresponding fixture last season ended 1-1, with Rose cancelling out Milner's first-half penalty at White Hart Lane.
We say: Tottenham 2-2 Liverpool
Tottenham's poor record against Liverpool is proof that their style of football plays right into the hands of the Reds, and while the formbook points towards a home win this weekend, Klopp's record against direct rivals cannot be ignored. There is very good attacking talent on show from both sides, so we're going for an entertaining score draw.
