Tottenham Hotspur will be in action for the first time in two weeks on Sunday when they welcome title-chasing Liverpool to North London in the headline fixture of a COVID-affected Premier League weekend.
The hosts have seen their last three games in all competitions postponed due to outbreaks, whereas Liverpool are yet to miss a game despite recording three suspected positive tests themselves during the week.
Match preview
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It will have been a strange experience for Tottenham to have two weeks off during what is usually the busiest period in the Premier League calendar, and only time will tell whether it proves to be a help or a hindrance in Sunday's match.
Games against Rennes and Brighton & Hove Albion were called off due to a coronavirus outbreak in the Spurs squad, before positive cases in the Leicester City camp saw their midweek match at the King Power Stadium postponed too.
All of that means that Antonio Conte's side have not been in action since December 5, when Lucas Moura, Davinson Sanchez and Son Heung-min were on the scoresheet in a 3-0 win over Norwich City.
That made it three Premier League wins in a row for Spurs, and another victory over Liverpool this weekend would see them string together four on the bounce for the first time since July 2020.
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Tottenham's inaction has seen them slip down to seventh in the Premier League table, although they have at least two games in hand over every other team in the league apart from Burnley, including three games in hand over fourth-placed Arsenal, whom them trail by four points.
A Champions League spot remains in Tottenham's own hands this season, then, but Conte will not need telling that improvement is still needed.
Spurs have scored just 16 goals so far this term - only four teams have scored fewer - while before their ongoing three-game winning streak they lost five and won just two of their previous eight outings.
Liverpool certainly represent a step up in quality from the teams they have beaten in recent games too, and history does not bode well for the hosts, who have lost each of their last six meetings with the Reds.
Indeed, Spurs have only won one of their last 17 top-flight games against Liverpool, losing 12 of those, while the Merseysiders are currently enjoying their longest ever winning run away to Tottenham of three games.
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Liverpool also boast a remarkable record in the month of December despite the fixture pile-up around Christmas, going unbeaten in their last 34 December league games stretching back to 2016 - the longest undefeated streak any side has ever enjoyed in a specific month of the competition.
Conte will be telling his players that those past results will have no bearing on Sunday's game, but there is plenty for Spurs to be concerned about from Liverpool's more recent form too.
Jurgen Klopp's side overcame an early scare to beat Newcastle United 3-1 at Anfield on Thursday night - their 2,000th top-flight triumph, an eighth consecutive win across all competitions and a sixth in a row in the Premier League.
Goals from Diogo Jota, the perpetually record-setting Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold sealed another crucial three points which saw Liverpool keep pace with Manchester City, whom they trail by just one point at the top of the Premier League table.
Despite seeing Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones ruled out before the game due to suspected positive coronavirus tests, Klopp has questioned the logic behind a proposed 'circuit-break', and it is easy to see why he would want to keep Liverpool's momentum rolling.
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The Reds have now scored in an all-time club record 32 consecutive games and are also on a club-record of scoring in 26 successive away games across all competitions, while their tally of 48 goals from just 17 outings this season is eight clear of the next highest scorers.
Liverpool have also still only lost once this term - a league-low tally - although that did come on their last visit to London as West Ham United ran out 3-2 winners.
Klopp's men have not lost back-to-back games in the capital since April 2015 and will be favourites to keep that run going this weekend, although Tottenham's rested legs could give them more of an upper hand than expected.
Both clubs face a hectic end to the year should the fixture schedule continue as planned, with four games still to play before now and New Year's Eve, and victory on Sunday would be the perfect springboard for either to go into that run of games full of confidence.
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Team News
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Tottenham's coronavirus issues are by no means over yet, and they could still be without as many as six players on Sunday due to the virus.
Son is one of those understood to be affected and therefore unavailable for Liverpool's visit, while Lucas, Emerson Royal, Oliver Skipp, Bryan Gil and Dane Scarlett will all be assessed having tested positive.
Cristian Romero remains sidelined until next year through injury, but Sergio Reguilon is ready to return to the side and Giovani Lo Celso should also be in contention after a knee problem.
Harry Kane, who has scored just once in his last six meetings with Liverpool, will lead the line as he goes in search of his first Premier League goal for more than two months, and only his second of the season.
Salah has had no such trouble finding the back of the net, with his goal against Newcastle his 15th of the campaign already, and history could beckon for the Egyptian winger this weekend.
If he scores or assists at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium then Salah would become the first ever player to be directly involved in at least one goal in 16 successive Premier League games.
Liverpool are awaiting final confirmation regarding the "suspected" positive tests of Van Dijk, Fabinho and Jones, but all three are expected to miss out once again this weekend.
The Reds have so far not returned any further positive tests, but Divock Origi, Nat Phillips, Harvey Elliott and Adrian all remain sidelined for the visitors through injury.
Klopp may view Wednesday's EFL Cup tie with Leicester as a better chance to rotate players, meaning that changes for Sunday's game should be kept to a minimum.
Roberto Firmino will be pushing for a recall up front, particularly having scored five goals - including three winners - in his last six games against Spurs, but Jota's own goalscoring form may keep the Brazilian on the bench for now.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Tanganga, Ndombele, Hojbjerg, Reguilon; Lo Celso; Kane, Bergwijn
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Konate, Robertson; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Henderson, Thiago; Salah, Jota, Mane
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Liverpool
The big question mark hanging over this fixture will be what state Tottenham are in - will their two-week break leave them fresh or rusty?
If the latter, they could be caught cold against a free-scoring Liverpool side looking sharper than ever in front of goal, although Klopp's men will not be at full strength either due to their own coronavirus issues.
Even so, it is hard to back against the Reds at the moment and, given their formidable record against Tottenham in recent years as well, we are backing them to march on with another victory on Sunday.
Top tip
Barney Corkhill
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Liverpool win with a probability of 51.81%. A win for Tottenham Hotspur had a probability of 24.95% and a draw had a probability of 23.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Liverpool win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.71%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (9.26%) and 0-2 (8.28%). The likeliest Tottenham Hotspur win was 2-1 (6.36%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.85%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 5.7% likelihood.
