Football / News / Sports

 Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez hitting form against Tottenham Hotspur

Today’s encounter is a crucial one for Jurgen Klopp and Antonio Conte. Both managers are under pressure to deliver for their respective clubs but for vastly different reasons. Conte is trying to prove that Tottenham can be a major player in the Premier League title race whilst Klopp wants to get Liverpool back to winning ways and into the top four race.

With the margins for error so slim at the top of the table Conte’s Spurs cannot afford to slip up against Liverpool this afternoon. They’ve had three poor weeks in the league with consecutive defeats to Manchester United and Newcastle before Rodrigo Bentancur rescued them with a 92nd minute winner against Bournemouth last time out. Three points today is a must if Spurs want to keep the pressure on Manchester City and Arsenal.

Liverpool, meanwhile, come into the game 9th in the table and eight points away from the top four having been beaten by Nottingham Forest and Leeds in their last two league outings. However, Klopp’s men tend to step up in big games – they’re the only ones to beat City this season – and with the pressure on they could prove to be too much to handle for Spurs especially with Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez hitting form.

Follow the action as Tottenham clash with Liverpool in the Premier League:

Tottenham vs Liverpool

  • Victory puts Spurs back in third place
  • 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

Tottenham Hotspur FC 1 – 2 Liverpool FC

Full-time: Tottenham 1-2 Liverpool

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Football / Sports

Harry Kane double seals victory over Nottingham Forest

Harry Kane was at the double for Tottenham Hotspur, who held off constant Nottingham Forest pressure to take all three points on Sunday afternoon.

Antonio Conte’s men produced a relatively poor performance in the East Midlands, with a lack of urgency seeing a spirited Forest dominate possession and carve out some presentable chances. But the hosts were simply unable to finish, and endured two key periods of looking susceptible on the break.

In both of those spells, Spurs capitalized. Dejan Kulusevski, one of Spurs’ few bright sparks, broke through the heart of the Forest backline before teeing up Kane for the early opener. With nine minutes left on the clock, the North Londoners killed the game with Richarlison’s superb outside-of-the-boot cross finding Kane in space at the back post, for the England captain to stoop down and head in.

Kane was making amends for earlier spurning a chance of a second goal, with his second-half penalty having been saved by Dean Henderson. The former Manchester United goalkeeper stepped up with a big spot-kick save for the second game here in succession.

Unlike against West Ham United, it wasn’t enough, though. It leaves Forest with four points from as many games, while Spurs rise to 10, level with reigning champions Manchester City and a couple behind leaders Arsenal.

Plenty of promise for Forest – but a focal point is needed

The transfer fee of Morgan Gibbs-White, potentially rising to £42.5m, raised plenty of eyebrows over the last fortnight – but there is no doubt he is the man for this Forest side.

The versatile attacker was brilliant against Spurs, particularly in the first half, causing problems for all three opposing centre-backs as well as Ivan Perisic. He spotted balls nobody else did, and generally looked a level above many of his teammates – which was a feat in itself, after such a strong team performance.

He dovetailed well with both Jesse Lingard and Brennan Johnson, with the trio interchanging positions throughout. They were slightly more weighted towards the right flank, almost …

Football / Sports

Top Transfer News

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Bissouma completes Spurs medical ahead of £35m move

Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma has completed his Tottenham medical ahead of a £35m move to north London.

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Liverpool have identified the 18-year-old right-back as a long-term rival for Trent Alexander-Arnold; Aberdeen set to bank a club-record £6.5m fee for the talented defender; Ramsay was named SFWA Young Player of the Year this season

 

Bayern set to meet Liverpool’s £42.5m Mane price

Sadio Mane is on the verge of sealing a move to Bayern Munich with the club preparing an improved offer in line with Liverpool’s £42.5 million valuation.

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Boxing / Sports

Anthony Joshua Wants To ‘Outskill’ Oleksandr Usyk – Says Eddie Hearn

Anthony Joshua wants to beat challenger Oleksandr Usyk with his technical skills rather than relying on his superior size when they meet in the headliner this month on September 25th at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in London, England.

Joshua’s technical skills must be up to par for his fight with Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs) because the Ukrainian fighter is too talented for AJ to run over like a truck using his size alone to win. It may prove to be difficult for Joshua to ‘out-skill’ Usyk the way that Hearn wants him to because he’s always been technically flawed.

We’ve seen in the past that Joshua struggle with cardio issues when he’s tried for knockouts. He got away with gassing out against Dillian Whyte, Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin.

In Joshua’s loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. in their first fight in June 2019, he was exhausted after hurting the American. Ruiz Jr. took advantage of it and dropped him.

Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) is leaning down slightly, but not as much as some boxing fans think.

According to Hearn, Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) will weigh close to the same amount he did for his second fight with Andy Ruiz Jr. in December 2019 and his last title defense against Kubrat Pulev in 2021.

Usyk Best-Skilled Fighter Joshua Has Faced

“Skill wise, he’s definitely the best fighter he’s faced,” said Eddie Hearn to about Usyk being the best technical fighter Joshua will have faced.

“I mean, he’s a pound-for-pound top five fighter. Powerwise in the division, he’s [Joshua] fought some big punchers. Dillian Whyte, Klitschko, Andy Ruiz as well and many others.

“[Kubrat] Pulev can punch as well. I don’t think Usyk carries the power of those guys, but he still carries power. It can be awkward this fight. It can be tricky.

“I don’t think Joshua buys into the ‘Too big, too strong.’ He doesn’t want to rely on his size in this fight. He wants to not only out-skill Usyk, but he wants to be able to compete with …

Football / Sports

Harry Kane trains with team-mates for first time this season after exiting isolation

Harry Kane had not trained with his Tottenham team-mates until Tuesday morning; striker was forced to isolate after returning from holiday and trained individually on Monday; 28-year-old missed Spurs’ 1-0 win against Manchester City – who are interested in signing him – on Sunday.

Kane had been staying at Spurs’ training ground hotel, The Lodge, after coming back to the UK from his holiday in the Bahamas, via Florida. The England captain was required to isolate upon his return, meaning he was unable to join his Spurs team-mates as they prepared to face Manchester City in their Premier League opener on Sunday.…