Premier League Preview: Reds travel south for the weekend’s standout showdown

Following another enthralling weekend of action in the Premier League, the drama only intensifies in Gameweek 7, as Tottenham welcome Liverpool to north London in the round’s standout clash.

Two teams who have bolted out of the stalls this season do battle in what promises to be a thrilling affair. Jurgen Klopp’s dominant Reds look much-improved following a tepid campaign last time out and are yet to taste defeat having won five and drawn one of their opening six league games, alongside beating LASK 3-1 in last week’s Europa League curtain-raiser.

Goals have certainly not been in short supply for the Merseysiders, with all but one of their last six all-competition matches ending with the Reds sticking three goals past their respective opponents.

Many thought that the visit of West Ham on Sunday would prove to be a larger task than what transpired; David Moyes’ side are another who have started brightly and occupy a well-deserved position alongside the Premier League’s elite in the top-seven after six games, but they were brushed aside with conviction on Sunday as Liverpool ran out 3-1 winners at Anfield and showed no signs of a hangover from the previous Thursday’s outing in Austria.

Darwin Nunez has hit the ground running this season and is beginning to show glimpses of repaying the £85m fee Liverpool paid for him last year. It’s taken some time for the South American to adjust to the rigours of top-flight English football, but with four goals and two assists from his seven appearances in the League and Europe so far there is a new-found hope and expectation that he can be the Erling Haaland for this Liverpool side moving forward; or at least something that closely resembles City’s Norwegian goalbot.

Saturday’s trip south will be a stern test of the Reds’ mettle, however. In Spurs they face another team who are yet to taste defeat this season and sit firmly placed on their heels in the top-four – just two points behind with four wins and two draws to show for their efforts so far.

Tottenham have been good value from an entertainment perspective and have appeared to have found some serious rhythm under Ange Postecoglou. In a closely-fought and emotionally-charged encounter at the Emirates, Spurs could’ve easily came away from their rivals’ fortress with more than a point – although the same could be argued for Arsenal, too, such was the nature of Sunday’s footballing Battle of the Somme.

As bizarre as it is to say, this new-look Tottenham team looks like they are actually benefiting from the departure of Harry Kane. No longer are they as predictable and one-dimensional as they have been in years gone by and, whilst the void Kane has left behind in terms of goal contributions will obviously be missed, it has afforded Spurs’s supporting cast the perfect opportunity to become leading Hollywood A-Listers.

So far they have grasped it with both hands, the most poignant example being James Maddison and Son Heung-min’s blossoming partnership. On Sunday the pair linked up for both of Tottenham’s goals and they will relish the opportunity of strengthening their on-field relationship when Jurgen Klopp’s men come to town on Saturday afternoon, especially given Liverpool are almost as good at letting the ball into the wrong net as they are at making the right one pulsate.

Despite winning six of their seven matches this season, the Reds have only managed to keep one clean sheet and have clinched four of their six wins by a scoreline of 3-1. It’s a funny old game, isn’t it? Cynicism aside – and, to be fair, I am being cynical given Liverpool have still won all of those games comfortably and look well-placed to mount a serious title-challenge on last season’s eventual runaway leaders up the M62 – their inability to keep the slate clean could prove disastrous against a team with as much quality as Ange’s version of Tottenham, especially on away soil.

Much like last weekend’s north London derby, if the history book is anything to go off then this Saturday’s clash of the titans should feature plenty of goals. The previous six meetings have resulted in both sides finding the net, with a combined 23 goals scored – the latest of which was a seven-goal thriller ending 4-3 to Liverpool in April. More of the same then, please lads.

Premier League Gameweek 7 – fixtures in full:

Saturday 30 September 2023

12:30 Aston Villa v Brighton

15:00 AFC Bournemouth v Arsenal

15:00 Everton v Luton Town

15:00 Man Utd v Crystal Palace

15:00 Newcastle v Burnley

15:00 West Ham v Sheff Utd

15:00 Wolves v Man City

17:30 Spurs v Liverpool

Sunday 1 October 2023

14:00 Nott’m Forest v Brentford