Everyone could see how relieved Andre Villas-Boas was to see his side end a three-match losing run with a comfortable win over rivals West Ham, although that result won’t matter much unless Spurs can beat Liverpool as well.

Having survived the trip to Swansea, the Reds can make a real statement of intent with a good result at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham were always going to struggle after staying without Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart, although new signings were expected to help compensate for the two midfield stars.

Moussa Dembele instantly proved he will be a great addition to the centre of the park, but his injury was the thing that took the wind out of Tottenham’s sails.

While Belgian was on the sidelines, Spurs lost four of five Premier League games, so it was probably not a coincidence that the team returned to winning ways at the same time that Dembele returned into action.

Having produced a very good performance against West Ham, Tottenham look a good bet to see off Liverpool, with BetVictor paying 2.45 (29/20) on home win.

After scoring a brace against the Hammers, Jermain Defoe is 2.75 (7/4) with Paddy Power to net at least once against Liverpool.

Emmanuel Adebayor serves the second game of his three-match ban, while Scott Parker, Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Younes Kaboul remain sidelined.

Moussa Dembele is expected to start his first game since recovering from injury, while Sandro could miss out having injured himself at the weekend.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-1-1): Lloris – Walker, Dawson, Caulker, Vertonghen – Lennon, Dembele, Huddlestone, Bale – Dempsey – Defoe.

Liverpool may have extended their unbeaten run to four games in all competitions, but it is highly unlikely their fans will be happy with draws against Young Boys and Swansea.

Even if many expected that Brendan Rodgers would sort out the Reds with a magic wand, that has not happened, as the team continue to struggle in their build up play.

With most of the goals scored exclusively thanks to Luis Suarez or on the break, the Reds are certainly not looking like the team that could enter the race for European places this term.

Following a pretty indifferent showing at Liberty Stadium, odds of 3.50 (5/2) offered at SkyBet on away win are not too tempting.

Andre Wisdom and Lucas Leiva could make the bench, but Martin Kelly and Fabio Borini remain long-term casualties.

Nuri Sahin and Suso are expected to return to the starting line-up, with Stuart Downing and Jordan Henderson dropping to the bench.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Reina – Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique – Gerrard, Allen – Sterling, Sahin, Suso – Suarez.