Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has warned Jurgen Klopp to be wary about the threat posed by Tottenham’s quartet of attackers, insisting they will punish the Reds if they are not stopped.
The Lilywhites took four points from their Merseyside rivals last season to help them finish ahead in the top flight table, although it was Klopp’s team who progressed to the Champions League final to be beaten by Real Madrid.
Speaking ahead of the two sides’ meeting this weekend, the Anfield icon named Spurs quartet Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Lucas Moura as the game changing talents available to Mauricio Pochettino.
He told the Liverpool Echo: “We’ve seen what they did to Manchester United, they’re no mugs. If you have an off day, they make you pay as they did against us last season. The likes of Eriksen, Lucas, Harry Kane and Dele Alli can all do damage in the attacking third.
“You can only afford to lose three or four games these days if you want to win the league, it’s mad. Tottenham took four points of us last year and we can’t let that happen again. They will be up there again at the end of the season so we need to take points off them to make sure we can stay ahead of them and the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea.”
Opinion
Both Liverpool and Tottenham fans might be thinking that Aldridge’s prediction of a potential title win for either side is a bit far-fetched, but he is right in saying this early clash could determine how the two teams’ campaigns go. Neither have quite hit the heights they did last season, but Liverpool hold the early advantage having won all their games in the first part of the season. Tottenham meanwhile sit just three points behind and will not want to allow the Reds to build the gap between them as they look to remain as top four regulars in the Premier League. Both sides now have potent forward lines as well as resolute defences and it could well come down to one moment of magic to separate the two sides at Wembley on Saturday. Neither Klopp nor Pochettino will want to give the opposition attack any chance to demonstrate their talents as they have done so expertly over the past 12 months, and it looks set to be a nervy clash between the pair.