Tottenham Hotspur are back in much-awaited Premier League action today, and face yet another tough test as they welcome high-flying Liverpool to north London.
As a couple of sides who both remain unbeaten in the league, it promises to be quite the spectacle, although the hosts will remain confident of claiming victory against anyone given their current form.
Who is injured for Spurs vs Liverpool?
However, Ange Postecoglou could be set to face his real first crisis since taking over the Lilywhites, as he outlined a few key potential absentees for the all-important clash.
Speaking to reporters, the former Celtic man updated them on the fitness of his Deadline Day signing, as well as his two star men: “From last week, Brennan will miss out – it’s nothing too serious but he won’t be right for this week.
“Madders and Sonny trained today, just finished the session and seemed to get through it not too bad. We’ll just have to see how they pull up as it’s fair to say they were a bit sore after last week and had a bit of an interrupted week training so just a matter of seeing how they pull up.”
Whilst the former is hardly the biggest absentee, although his pace would have been greatly appreciated to terrorise the Merseyside outfit, the late calls set to be made on Heung-min Son and James Maddison will have supporters worrying up until the release of team news.
Fortunately, the recall of Manor Solomon now seems almost inevitable, with his skillset and specific role perhaps set to be more important in claiming a huge victory than that pair.
How good is Manor Solomon?
Having only joined on a free transfer in the summer, the £60k-per-week flyer has hit the ground running at his new club, offering an electric creative presence down the flank.
Jamie Redknapp would even describe the stocky winger as a “pocket rocket” last term, given his compact frame but a frightening change of pace.
Although his tenure at Fulham was largely overshadowed by a string of scorching long-range goals since starting for Spurs the Iraeli speedster has begun offering more consistency, outlined in his 7.20 average rating.
The 24-year-old has two assists already from just two starts, whilst also averaging an impressive 2.3 key passes per game. It is this clinical cutting-edge that could prove integral today, as Postecoglou will surely seek to utilise the speed of Solomon to exploit the space Trent Alexander-Arnold often leaves as he pushes into midfield.
With the Reds’ academy graduate expected to be fit, Jurgen Klopp had admitted back in April that the new hybrid role presented “a challenge for everyone else to cover the spaces”.
Should they fail to do so, then there are few better than Spurs’ dynamic runner to exploit such space.
After all, The Guardian even pointed out how Harry Winks managed it back in May, which is a template that Postecoglou could seek to emulate:
“Liverpool’s worries came at the back, especially when Alexander‑Arnold moved into midfield and Tottenham countered at speed. It left Liverpool short in defence and Spurs showed how they could be exploited.”
Whilst Alexander-Arnold, when on form, could devastate the Lilywhites, should Solomon keep him honest with hard work and relentless running in behind, not only will it provide a potent attacking outlet, but it could also nullify the visitors as they seek to plug the gap.
