LONDON, ENGLAND - Saturday, August 27, 2016: Liverpool's manager Jürgen Klopp and Tottenham Hotspur's manager Mauricio Pochettino before the FA Premier League match at White Hart Lane. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Mauricio Pochettino insists Tottenham will attack Liverpool despite influence of Anfield atmosphere

Mauricio Pochettino has urged Tottenham to reach “the same level” as in their 2-0 win at home to Man United when they take on Liverpool on Sunday.

United were bulldozed at Wembley as Christian Eriksen’s opener and Phil Jones’ own goal capped a vital victory for Pochettino’s Spurs on Wednesday.

With Liverpool having sealed a 3-0 win away to Huddersfield Town the previous night, the north London outfit needed three points to keep up the pace in the race for the top four.

And with the Reds welcoming their rivals to Anfield this weekend, Pochettino has acknowledged the importance of a similar display, despite being faced with a much different proposition.

“I think if you saw the game against Man United, there were plenty of very good offensive players: Martial, Lingard, Alexis, Lukaku, Pogba,” he told reporters on Friday.

“Similar to Liverpool, they are going to put Salah, Firmino, Mane—plenty of talented, offensive players.

“Of course they are different. They’re not similar in the way that they play, but when you play a big team like Liverpool there are two things to do.

“One, how you can score goals and be offensive and dominate the game.

“Another is when they have the ball, how you can stop them and try to make offensive situations difficult.

“They are different [to United] but we hope to be on the same level [as Wednesday night] and try to win.

“Because for the race for the top four, until the end of the season, it’s so important to win against Liverpool too.”

Liverpool head into Sunday’s clash still aching from their 4-1 mauling at the hands of Spurs back in October at Wembley.

That day, Jurgen Klopp withdraw a struggling Dejan Lovren after just 31 minutes, with the Croatian among of host of his players to crumble in the capital.

This time out, however, the Reds have home advantage, and with Klopp stressing the importance of Anfield in his press conference, Pochettino also highlighted how atmosphere could influence the game.

“For all clubs it’s so difficult to play against the top clubs away from home,” he added.

“For me Liverpool is one of the best squads in England, and in Europe, with a great manager and coaching staff.

“And the atmosphere will be amazing, because at Anfield they’re so tough. It’s such a difficult atmosphere to play in.

“I think it will be a very, very difficult game for us.”

Spurs are unbeaten in their last nine games in all competitions, but Pochettino is yet to win at Anfield since taking over as manager in 2014, and Liverpool have not lost in this fixture since 2011.

With this proving a crucial clash as the top-four battle continues to shape up, it could be that Anfield proves to be a decisive factor for the Reds.

More from This Is Anfield

Fan Comments