Liverpool duo Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah could have the perfect opportunity for revenge when they face Tottenham Hotspur tonight.
The Reds travel to north London to face Spurs in desperate need of a win after a five-game winless run in the Premier League.
Jurgen Klopp’s men are also short of goals, with their last league strike coming in the draw with West Brom at the end of last month, failing to find the back of the net in their last four league matches.
While form may be against Liverpool going into the game, there is the chance that they could be up against a weakened Tottenham defence, which could play into their hands.
Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Sergio Reguillon will miss tonight’s game, and there are also doubts that fellow left-back Ben Davies could also be absent with an injury.
That could mean that Japhet Tanganga, who is traditionally a centre-back, is forced to cover the left side of the defence, as did on occasion last season at Spurs.
Liverpool will remembers Tanganga from their last visit to north London when he made his Premier League debut in Spurs’ 1-0 loss in January last year, but in that game he played in his favoured centre-back role.
After that game 12 months ago, Mourinho fired a jibe at the way of Salah and Mane, claiming that before the game they did not know who Tanganga was, but did after the defender’s impressive performance.
“It’s a pity that he’s not a striker! It’s a pity that he’s not a midfield player, but he is one more player that we have,” said Mourinho, after last year’s encounter.
“I think Mane and Salah, they know who Tanganga is [now]. They didn’t know before the game.
“I think when they saw the list [of players], they thought, ‘Oh, what position does this guy play?’
“I think now they know. The kid was really good. So instead of speaking about, crying about Harry Kane and (Moussa) Sissoko and (Hugo) Lloris and Ben Davies, let’s smile with Tanganga.”
Salah failed to score in the last meeting between the two clubs in December, with his last strike against Spurs coming from the penalty spot in last season’s 2-1 win at Anfield.
Mane is without a goal in his last six game against Tottenham, with his last goal coming in the form of a brace in the 2-0 win in February 2017.
