7 Critical Dilemmas Ahead of Liverpool’s Match with Tottenham Hotspur

As Jürgen Klopp has said before, every Liverpool game feels like a must-win. The Premier League title is at stake. Any misstep will bring about thoughts of “the slip” and other times the Reds could nearly feel their hands on the trophy before the chance went up in smoke.

Saturday’s trip to London is another opportunity for Liverpool to keep putting points on the board, to maintain their sizable lead at the top of the table, and ensure that any late season fumbles aren’t detrimental to our dream of seeing yet another Henderson trophy shuffle.

Jose Mourinho, however, wants nothing more than to spoil Liverpool’s unbeaten run this weekend. His team is in disarray and key players are unavailable but he will have been desperate to coach his team into a 9-man defensive block this week.

Klopp said he wants Liverpool to be unpredictable against Spurs, knowing that Mourinho is known for a defensive approach that stifles his opponent’s creativity. It’s likely been a week of critical decisions for both managers.

In that light, I’ve laid out several pivotal questions and conundrums ahead of the fixture to draw out your pre-match mojo.

1. Pick three from this list to boss the midfield on Saturday: Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Xherdan Shaqiri, Gini Wijnaldum, other.
2. Which player will push the other one far too aggressively first, Danny Rose or Andy Robertson?
3. If Klopp sends Takumi Minamino into the game, when does it happen, who does he replace, and why? Use elaborate punctuation as often as possible in your answer.
4. Say something nice about this person: Martin Atkinson.
5. How long until Jose Mourinho’s assistant becomes Tottenham’s interim manager?
6. On a scale of 1-11, how nervous are you about Erik Lamela being within lunging reach of Liverpool’s players.
7. Predict your emotion at the final whistle.

Bonus: True or False: VAR.

Double bonus: Pose a new dilemma.