Tottenham vs Liverpool LIVE: Premier League final score and result as Reds hold on for victory

Four of the six managerial meetings between Antonio Conte and Jurgen Klopp in the Premier League have ended in draws, with one victory apiece.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits Sunday’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur represents a “massive” game for his frustratingly inconsistent side.

The Reds have accrued almost as many points from six Champions League matches (15) as they have from a dozen games in the Premier League (16).

In midweek they enjoyed a morale-boosting 2-0 win over previously-unbeaten Napoli, arguably Europe’s form side, to add to two victories they have enjoyed over Manchester City in the league and FA Community Shield this season.

But, domestically, they have lost their last two games to Nottingham Forest and Leeds, who were both in the bottom two at the time, and points-wise Liverpool are closer to the relegation zone than the top four.

Liverpool have dropped 20 points in 12 league matches this season with four wins, four draws and four defeats. That’s just two shy of their final total last season.

The Reds have also recorded more victories in this season’s Champions League - five - than they have in the Premier League.

Tottenham have failed to score in the first half of any of their last six matches in all competitions, and have trailed after 45 minutes in each of their previous four games.

But, Spurs have won 10 points from losing positions this term, more than any other top-flight side prior to the latest round of fixtures.

Jurgen Klopp believes it is a “disaster” for the players who will miss the World Cup because they get injured in club games in the weeks immediately before a winter tournament is crowbarred into the schedule.

A host of leading footballers have been ruled out of the competition in Qatar or are doubts for it after being hurt in recent fixtures, including Ben Chilwell, Timo Werner, Heung-Min Son and Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Normally players would have had a longer time to recover between their final club matches and the World Cup, and Klopp believes the current spate of injuries were predictable because of the “crazy” way the calendar has been organised.

Antonio Conte makes just two changes to the Tottenham team that lined-up against Marseille during the week. Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura are both injured so they’re replaced in the starting XI by Yves Bissouma and Emerson Royal.

Jurgen Klopp meanwhile makes three changes to the Liverpool team that defeated Napoli in the Champions League. Andy Robertson, Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott all return with Kostas Tsimikas, Curtis Jones and James Milner dropping out.

Tottenham XI: Lloris; Royal, Dier, Lenglet, Davies, Sessegnon; Bissouma, Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Perisic; Kane

Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Thiago, Elliott; Salah, Firmino, Nunez

Darwin Nunez has slowly been growing into his role at the top of Liverpool’s forward line and has scored in two of the Reds last three outings across all competitions.

Jurgen Klopp was asked about Nunez’s uptick in form and he replied: “Big steps and still space for improvement because the boy is an incredible package.

“You could see immediately he is a real threat in the finishing area, involved in a lot of things. That’s why you then realise, the few big chances he missed, imagine he would have scored from them as well.

“He is involved in pretty much everything. He is always an option to pass to, to cross the ball to, these kind of things. He came on [against Napoli] and didn’t play extremely long but was involved in both goals, which is good. So, big steps, absolutely.”

Antonio Conte was appointed Tottenham Hotspur manager just over a year ago and was asked to reflect on his first 12 months in charge of the north London side at a recent press conference.

“There have been lots of positives.” he said, “We’ve improved a lot, in many things. Now, there is a clear vision, a path to follow.

“In one year, with the club all together, I think we made not so many mistakes, maybe it’s better to say it this way, not be presumptuous.

“We still need time and patience, it’s not easy to win in England. I’m really proud of the work we did together. I feel to stay in a family, and I’m starting to feel the people who work here, their sense of belonging for the Club, and this is very important.”

Tottenham’s 4-1 win against Liverpool at Wembley on 22nd October 2017 is their only victory in the last 21 meetings in all competitions.

Liverpool have won five of their past nine league away fixtures versus Spurs, losing just once and matches between these sides have produced 10 Premier League own goals, more than any other fixture.