The Reds will be without Mo Salah due to his involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), but they can rely on the in-form Hugo Ekitike as their goalscorer, with the Frenchman scoring a double in his last two Premier League games.
Such has been the 23-year-old’s form this season that Olivier Giroud has spoken about his chances of being selected in the France squad for next summer’s World Cup, even as Didier Deschamps has an outsized wealth of attacking talent to choose from.
Merson insists Ekitike should start against Spurs
Ekitike’s two goals against Brighton last weekend are as many as Alexander Isak’s totally succeeded in his first 15 games for Liverpool, and Merson believes it is a no-brainer to start the ex-Eintracht Frankfurt marksman.
In his weekly column with Premier League predictions for Sportkeedathe Sky Sports expert wrote: ‘Hugo Ekitike has to start ahead of Alexander Isak in this match. Looking at Isak’s problems only reminds us how important it is to have good preparation.
‘Liverpool could be in the top four or top five if they win, so they have to play Ekitike.’
Ekitike will certainly start – but will it be instead of or alongside Isak?
It would be a shock if Merson does not get his wish to see our number 22 in the starting line-up against Spurs, having scored four times in his last two Premier League games, and now that the Reds have the rarity of a full week to prepare for this match (and also next Saturday’s game against Wolves).
The bigger question will likely be whether the Frenchman starts as a sole striker or as part of a double act alongside Isak, with Slot recently selecting them together in the Champions League win away to Inter Milan as part of a 4-4-2 with a diamond in midfield.
Liverpool’s head coach has insisted the two centre-forwards can ‘play together’, although the Swede’s fitness problems have reduced the chances for him to team up with Ekitike.
The Reds head to North London short of first-team wingers with Salah away at AFCON and Cody Gakpo still sidelined with an injuryso it is likely that Slot could opt for a striking two-man partnership, as he did eleven days ago at San Siro.
All will be revealed when the team news is announced 75 minutes before kick-off, but it seems almost guaranteed that the in-form Ekitike will be included in the starting XI.
You can watch Slot’s full post-Brighton press conference below, via Kingdom of the Kop on YouTube:
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