With the UEFA Champions League Final just around the corner, there’s been a lot of tension in the build-up. For Liverpool, the long wait feels like it could slow down the incredible momentum built-up in recent months. It also won’t help that Tottenham Hotspur, their opponents, have had more than enough time to get key players back fit. Will that tell in the end for the biggest game in the recent history of either club?
Spurs Team News
Tottenham are definitely the happier of the two sides with the long break until the final. They look set to only be short Ben Davies. They can welcome back a whole host of players, including Jan Vertonghen, Davinson Sanchez, Harry Winks, Harry Kane, and Victor Wanyama. Given how key some of those players are, it can only be a good thing for Spurs.
While not all of them will be 100% fit, it’s the biggest game of all of their careers. Finding energy reserves to fight through the pain barrier shouldn’t be so tough for these Spurs players.
Therefore, it’s easy to see how Spurs can come into the tie feeling like the team with momentum and positive ascendancy. However, as has happened before, fitness gambles could lead to more problems than solutions on the day.
Liverpool News
Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp, meanwhile, have little issues to worry about in terms of fitness. Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah both have passed fit by all accounts, with only Naby Keita being ruled out definitively. While injuries can re-occur from a fitness perspective, the Reds are in a fine position just as the season comes to an end.
Last year, fitness and form of key players – including Salah and then goalkeeper Loris Karius, cost the Reds on the big stage. This year, they look to be primed to handle the pace and intensity of the match. Unlike last year, though, they are the favourites. Can a Klopp side be at its best when it has to handle being the ‘big’ team on such an occasion?
Liverpool, though, look in excellent form with regards to their injury list. While Keita is a big loss given his exquisite form in the end of the season run-up, the fitness of so many other key players – especially Firmino – will take a huge amount of weight off of the shoulders of Klopp.