Mourinho’s Spurs pose tricky test for Liverpool
Spurs manager Jose Mourinho would love to be the one who ends Liverpool’s yearlong unbeaten run in the Premier League, and Saturday’s game could be closer than the standings suggest.
The late match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be the first between Jurgen Klopp’s men and a Mourinho side since Manchester United dismissed the Portuguese after a 3-1 defeat at Anfield in December 2018.
“Don’t sack Mourinho,” the crowd chorused mockingly during that 2018 humiliation, so revenge in North London would be sweet.
Spurs have been shockingly leaky, and some are expecting a classic demonstration of Mourinho’s bus-parking expertise in defence and a few tactical tricks.
“The way Spurs used to play under Mauricio Pochettino, you would have expected them to come out and have a go at us but I can’t see that happening under Jose Mourinho,” former Liverpool striker John Aldridge wrote in a column for the city’s Echo newspaper.
“I am sure they will try to soak up pressure and hit us on the break with Lucas Moura, Son (HeungMin) and Dele Alli.
“They will allow us to have possession and try to break them down, no doubt that is how Mourinho will play because I think he is very intimidated by Liverpool.”
The match could still be an awkward trip for the visiting Reds who beat Tottenham in last year’s Champions League final and have a near-perfect record of 58 points out of 60 this season to sit 13 points clear at the top.
Mourinho, who replaced the sacked Pochettino at Spurs in November, has only twice been on the winning side against Klopp in their 10 previous games as opponents.
To do it again, Tottenham will have to rise to the challenge without injured captain Harry Kane.