Tottenham Stars Ruled out for Liverpool Match

Tottenham revealed today that they will be without two of their biggest stars when they face off against Liverpool on Saturday in the first Premier League game of the round, with Alli expected to miss this weekend’s match and Lloris facing a longer spell on the sidelines.

Moussa Sissoko rounds out Spurs’ first team injury absences for the week, while Liverpool’s own situation remains largely unchanged for the weekend—Adam Lallana is a doubt with a thigh strain while Dejan Lovren and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remain long-term absences.

After the first four games of the season, Spurs sit fifth in the table having dropped three points against Watford in an unexpected defeat in the final game before the international break. They’ve scored nine goals and conceded four to start the Premier League season.

It’s as many goals as Liverpool have so far but, based on xG, Spurs have overperformed, with Understat only giving them 7.32 expected goals based on the chances they’ve created in their four matches—and 4.35 expected goals against based on chances given up.

Meanwhile, by those same chance creation stats, Liverpool trail only Manchester City when it comes to creating scoring chances and are the league’s stingiest side by a comfortable margin. In short, Liverpool have earned their spot at the top of the table in the early going.

Tottenham, on the other hand, have overachieved at least slightly, and being without their goalkeeper and one of their outfield stars is a major blow heading into Saturday’s match.