Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has tipped Tottenham Hotspur to challenge for the Premier League title again this season, citing the number of top-class players in their ranks.
The Lilywhites have started the campaign positively enough, winning five and drawing one of their last five games in all competitions to find themselves in a strong position both domestically and in Europe.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola recently courted controversy by suggesting that Spurs are a one-man team, due to the number of goals scored by leading marksman Harry Kane in the opening months of the season.
Klopp does not entirely agree with those remarks, however, pointing out that Tottenham have plenty of strength in depth all across the field.
"Spurs have been title contenders for the last two years, why shouldn't they be this time?" he told reporters. "They have Kane, [Dele] Alli and [Christian] Eriksen but with just three players you can do nothing. Absolutely nothing. In the world of centre-halves, it is quite difficult to find better than Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld and yet they still bought in the boy from Ajax (Davinson Sanchez).
"They brought in Ben Davies when Danny Rose was injured. They had Kieran Trippier for the right when Kyle Walker walked away to Manchester City. Eriksen is for sure one of the best Premier League players and who is behind? Moussa Sissoko – we know his quality – and Son [Heung-min] doesn't play all the time but always seems to decide games when he does.
"[Eric] Dier can play centre-half or number six. My God, they have great quality. That's a really good team. It is very difficult to find players better than the ones they already have."
Liverpool face Spurs at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon, aiming to close the four-point gap on their opponents.
Daniel Lewis
