Another Premier League battle is coming up on Saturday night and I think it will be another nail-biting game. Both Tottenham and Liverpool have undergone a degree of revamping compared to last season, but so far it's been a good overhaul for both sides.
Last week I talked about Tottenham's resilience under the stewardship of Pusdiguero, and they proved that fact once again by coming from behind twice to draw with their city rivals.
He has instilled belief in this team from the start of his tenure and I can only see Spurs getting better under his stewardship. While instilling a steel soul into this Tottenham team, the two fallen midfielders, Bissouma and Berbischaya, have been excellent so far this season and have allowed the more creative players to attack with gusto. James Maddison has been quite impressive, Galuszewski has been a constant threat to the opposition, and new captain Son Heung-min is the mainstay of the team.
At Son Heung-Min's level, we didn't see his best performances last season, but with the responsibility of captaining the team, he has regained his form and has become an indispensable player for the team this season, second only to goal-scoring machine Ayn Rand in the goal-scoring charts. Once again, I saw Son Heung-min and a few other players make a huge impact on the game by taking advantage of openings in certain key positions on the pitch.
Zukomis hasn't been too good at right wing in recent weeks and I think Spurs will look to attack this weak area and depending on who is on the pitch there will be different strategies, Brendan Johnson is an excellent runner without the ball so can play strongly behind Zukomis and Son Heung-Min can pull up the wing and beat him 1-on-1 on the flanks. As we saw in Tottenham's first goal against Arsenal, Maddison will get into defensive positions on both sides of the ball and has the ability to get past defenders or wing co-defenders (such as Bukajorska last week) and get into the heart of the opposition box.
I'd be surprised if Gopp opts for a more pure gate player like Semakas, but if he doesn't, Zukomis will likely have a long afternoon.
Although the defense of Zukomis along with the Liverpool players is not their strong point this season, the midfield and attacking players have definitely strengthened.
The Reds' midfield has been revamped and has been energized and refreshed, relieving one of the major concerns I had about them coming into the season. At certain stages of the game, the opposing midfield does get the upper hand and control the ball and the tempo of the game, but if they are not careful, Liverpool can reliably counter-attack to expose the opponent's openings and punish them with a goal.
Liverpool's players are in great form, and it's always good for a manager to see players, whether they're on or off the bench, making an impact on the game by scoring goals. The goals scored by Mohamed Sanaa, Darwin Nunes, Diego Zuda, Gap and Luis Diaz since the beginning of the season and more recently in the league and European competitions are just that, and it shows the strength of Liverpool's attacking positions and the ability of the players to close down the game with a single goal, which will cause problems for the Tottenham Hotspur defense, which has only been able to hold a clean sheet for one game in the league.
Of all the good attacking players, Sana is still the man of the hour. With 3 goals and 5 assists in his last 4 games, he's in great form and Tottenham will know all about him. He's scored 11 goals in 18 games against Spurs and I wouldn't be surprised if he can add to that tally in this game.
We're used to seeing this match as a duel between Sana and Harry Carney. But after the departure of Khalil Kani, this match will largely depend on who is the better player between Son Heung-min and Sana.
