Tottenham team news vs Liverpool with Antonio Conte missing stars

Jurgen Klopp previews Tottenham clash

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Tottenham welcome Liverpool to north London on Sunday as they look to keep pace with Manchester City and Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table. Spurs boss Antonio Conte is without a number of his key players for the visit of the Reds but could be boosted by the return of Dejan Kulusevski. Express Sport takes a look at the starting team the Italian could roll with.

Goalkeeper – Lloris

France international Hugo Lloris is yet to miss a second of Premier League or Champions League action this season and has kept six clean sheets in all competitions. The Spurs captain is an experienced campaigner and will take his place between the sticks once again for this one.

Defence – Dier, Lenglet, Davies

Conte will be without influential defender Cristian Romero for the visit of the Reds as the Argentina international is dealing with muscle fatigue. And that means he could keep faith with ex-Barcelona centre-back Clement Lenglet.

Lenglet helped Spurs book their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League on Tuesday night as he headed in his side’s opening goal against Marseille during a 2-1 victory. And the 27-year-old could once again line up in the middle of a back three alongside Eric Dier and Ben Davies.

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Midfield – Royal, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Bissouma, Perisic

Emerson Royal could be given the nod to provide the width down the right against Liverpool after coming on as a substitute in France, while Ivan Perisic could line-up on the left.

With a paucity of options in attack, Conte could be tempted to pack his midfield, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur all vying for a starting place. Bentancur was struggling towards the end of the Marseille clash – but Conte has since revealed the 25-year-old is “much better.”

Forwards – Lucas, Kane

Conte will be without Son Heung-min on Sunday after the South Korea international underwent surgery on Friday to stabilise a fracture around his left eye. The 30-year-old was forced off during the first half of Tuesday night’s game following a nasty aerial collision.

Brazil international Richarlison will also be absent once again after injuring his calf in Tottenham’s 2-0 win over Everton last month. The ex-Everton winger faces a race against time to be fit for the World Cup, which is due to get underway in Qatar later this month.

Kulusevski could be named in the Spurs squad for the first time in seven weeks after returning to training. But the Sweden international is severely short of match fitness and will therefore probably start on the bench. That means Harry Kane could be partnered by Lucas Moura upfront, despite the fact the Brazilian has been playing through the pain barrier in recent weeks.

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