Premier League leaders Liverpool meet Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday for the first time since a sultry June night in Madrid ended with Jurgen Klopp’s side crowned champions of Europe .
Since then the trajectories of the two clubs have been opposed. Liverpool has set a relentless pace at the top of the Premier League and Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham has stalled.
After nine games Liverpool leads the table by six points from Manchester City while Tottenham is already 13 points adrift in the seventh spot after only three league wins all season – their worst start since Pochettino’s debut season in 2014-15.
Liverpool at Anfield represents a far tougher proposition, though, especially considering that Pochettino’s record against them in all competitions since becoming Tottenham manager reads seven defeats, four draws and only one victory.
Despite the head-to-head record, Tottenham under Pochettino finished above Liverpool in the Premier League four seasons in a row until Klopp’s side ended as runners-up last season to Manchester City, 26 points above Spurs.
There is little to suggest that chasm will close any time soon, although Klopp will be wary of a Tottenham side who perhaps should have won at Anfield last season. Moussa Sissoko wasted a glorious late chance before a 90th-minute own goal by Toby Alderweireld handed Liverpool a 2-1 victory.