Make no mistake, lose this and the season is over.
We haven't lost a game of this ilk yet, so despite our terrible recent form, Klopp and the team have certainly done something right in these games. With that said, in order to give us a good chance of winning the game, rather than just avoiding defeat, I think a slight tweak could be necessary.
We need to be competitive against a physically and technically excellent midfield. With Danny Rose out for them, I'd be tempted to diamond it. I've laughed on here at people seeing it as this magical formation but I think Saturday is tailor made for it and potentially Arsenal too.
I think Clyne can handle Son 1v1 and while I'd worry about Walker's raids on the other side, I think staying compact in our defensive third against Kane, Eriksen and Alli and in the middle third against Dembela and Wanyama is more important.
The issue for us is, if everyone is fit, who doesn't start?
Coutinho? He's been shite since returning from injury, but he's symptomatic of our side; often ineffective against low block sides, but so regularly effective against the big boys. You also have to consider the psychological boost it would give to the opposition not to play him and the damage it could do for the rest of his and our season. We need to play him into form and his record against Spurs is quite good I think.
Can or Wijnaldum, then, seem the obvious choice but I honestly think we need both for this game. Despite not playing very well from a progressive point of view I think Can showed against Chelsea how useful his physicality can be against a strong side, and the same goes for Gini along with his ability to keep the ball ticking quickly, not to mention his late runs which provided goals against City and Chelsea, and almost in the last minute against United too.
And for me Lallana has to play at the tip of that diamond; leading the press, disrupting their play, and constantly moving laterally either direction in order to help us construct attacking moves. He's not been at his best lately but, again, he's definitely a man for the big games.
So the only conclusion I can reach is diamond it with a twist. Sure, he did well against Swansea, but otherwise Firmino has been ghastly for months. We'd miss his pressing and we'd miss the occasional out ball he can provide but we wouldn't miss the dreadful touches, the woeful passes, and the abject finishing which can destroy the flow and confidence of our side. It won't happen but I'd bench him.
Solution? In possession, it might look like a diamond with Mane moving inside from the right, and Coutinho from the left. Out of possession it's not all that different to what we're using at the moment, with Lallana essentially becoming a false nine. Of course there's the option to switch him and Mane at times in order to give us a bit more physicality through the middle, be it to feet or over the top should Spurs play a high line as they sometimes do.
For me that would give our best three footballers every possible platform to give us the win we need.
