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It's a new dawn. It's a new day. It's a new life. For me. And I'm feeling good.
Yes, the lyrics of Nina Simone's classic track "Feeling Good" have never felt so appropriate. Birds are flying high and the sun is indeed in our skies after Jürgen Klopp became Liverpool's manager less than a week after Brendan Rodgers was sacked. Danny Ings and Joe Gomez suffered knee injuries this week that ruled them out for the season, which was terrible new for the promising pair. The English duo join Jon Flanagan, Jordan Henderson, Christian Benteke, Roberto Firmino, Jordan Rossiter, and Dejan Lovren on the list of players unavailable for the trip to White Hart Lane.
Liverpool, however, have Jürgen Klopp as manager, and when there's Klopp, there's something approaching all sorts of positive platitudes and emotions within. Interestingly, Klopp will have a first-choice back five available along with the club's two most potent attacking weapons in Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge. The injuries should result in a 4-2-3-1 formation that was successful for many years when Klopp belonged to Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Dortmund belonged to Klopp.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-2-3-1):
Mignolet
Clyne/ Škrtel/ Sakho/ Moreno
Lucas / Can
Ibe or Lallana / Coutinho/ Milner
Sturridge
The players more or less pick themselves considering the number of injuries that have reduced the options available to the new manager. Joe Allen, José Enrique, and Kolo Touré should all be in the matchday squad, but will Jordon Ibe or Adam Lallana start against a dangerous Tottenham Hotspur side? The North London outfit are unbeaten in the last seven Premier League games, only suffering defeat at the hands of Louis van Gaal's Manchester United in the opening game.
Mauricio Pochettino has worked well since being appointed in May 2014 and will relish an opportunity to secure another notable home victory. Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb, and Son Heung-Min will miss the game through injury, while Eric Dier won't continue his midfield odyssey as he's suspended. The promising Dele Alli may take Dier's place in an energetic midfield.
Liverpool have won the last five encounters with Tottenham, but Manchester City suffered a 4-1 thumping at White Hart Lane late last month. This game represents a difficult start for hugely popular managerial appointment. There could be the prospect of two 4-2-3-1 formations clashing against each other as Pochettino has deployed that tactical arrangement in all eight league games so far this season.
Harry Kane may still be struggling to replicate last season's form, but Christian Eriksen showed against Swansea City that he's starting to find his range after returning from injury. This Tottenham side has been working on the running, pressing, and cohesion that Pochettino instilled at Southampton, and while there's still a feeling that more work needs to be done to be competitive, the head coach more or less has the players who suit his preferred way of working.
Only one point separates the sides so a win for Liverpool would take them above Tottenham. Only three Premier League sides have fared worse than Liverpool over the last six games, which probably means that the home side will be favourites tomorrow. All winning runs must come to an end, but hopefully Liverpool can continue a successful streak against Spurs for a little while longer. It would be quite the way for Jürgen Klopp to announce his arrival after the fanfare, hyperbole, hope, and attention that accompanied his appointment. The restart has already begun.
Kickoff is set for 12:45PM BST/7:45AM EST tomorrow, with coverage from LFCTV GO online for subscribers across the globe and NBC Sports Live Extra in the US. We'll be keeping you updated with all the buildup to the game, including team news as it's released, our live matchday thread and post-match recaps from The Liverpool Offside staff. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account to have your say on all the action as it happens.
