Ahead of the huge Tottenham Hotspur versus Liverpool clash at Wembley on Saturday (Watch live, 7:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com), we thought it would be fun to select a combined Best XI from the two Premier League title contenders.
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If you could choose players from the current squads at Tottenham or Liverpool, what would be the starting XI you put out on the pitch? Below we have a go at doing just that.
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Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp have a tough enough job putting a starting XI out on the pitch each week as it it based on their own squads, so this is a ridiculously hard task. Still, what a team this is…
JPW’s combined Tottenham v. Liverpool lineup
—– Alisson —–
—- Alderweireld —- Van Dijk —- Vertonghen —-
—- Trippier —- Eriksen —- Henderson —- Robertson —-
—- Mane —- Kane —- Salah —-
Conclusion: Alisson edges Hugo Lloris in goal, with both making mistakes with the ball at their feet in recent months but the former more dominant and set to make a huge impact at Liverpool in the coming years. We’ve gone for the 3-4-3 formation and in central defense the trio of Toby Alderweireld, Virgil Van Dijk and Jan Vertonghen complement each other rather nicely. With Davinson Sanchez, Joe Gomez and Dejan Lovren missing out, there are plenty of star center backs. Out wide Kieran Trippier just gets the nod ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold due to his stunning World Cup, and Andrew Robertson just edges past Ben Davies but it is really a toss of a coin between those two.
Central midfield was perhaps the toughest area to select with Christian Eriksen a given in a slightly deeper role, but who should play alongside him as the holding midfielder? Jordan Henderson gets the nod ahead of Eric Dier but if Naby Keita settles into life in the PL as we all expect then he will jump ahead of the Liverpool skipper. Up top, well, there’s an embarrassment of riches. Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane are locks, and I’ve gone for Sadio Mane after his fast start to the current campaign. Dele Alli, Son, Lucas Moura and Roberto Firmino are all knocking on the door but the displays of Mane, Salah and Kane over the past few years gets them into this team.
