'Wheels coming off for Klopp' - pundits disagree over Liverpool vs Tottenham predictions

Chris Sutton and Paul Merson disagree with their predictions for Liverpool's clash against Tottenham Hotspur.

The Reds face Spurs at Anfield in what will be Jurgen Klopp's penultimate Anfield fixture as Liverpool manager. Klopp will depart at the end of the season and is expected to be replaced by Feyenoord boss Arne Slot.

Liverpool are still battling to achieve as many points as possible, with their hopes of winning the league title becoming increasingly unlikely. The Reds are third in the table and eight points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand, but only have a maximum of nine more points to play for.

Tottenham's defeat to Chelsea in midweek means that Liverpool have already qualified for the Champions League next season. Now the focus for the Reds will be to finish Klopp's final season in the best possible way, starting with a victory against Spurs.

However, Sutton has predicted that Liverpool will fall to another defeat on Sunday. The former Premier League striker believes that the Reds will lose 3-2 at the hands of Tottenham at Anfield.

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"Liverpool are not in great form and the incident with Mohamed Salah has not helped," wrote Sutton for BBC Sport. "I hope he apologised to [Jurgen] Klopp for the way he behaved on the touchline last week.

"Salah is a great player but he is no different to everyone else in the squad in that, if he doesn't perform well, I am afraid he is droppable. It is going to be very interesting to see whether Salah starts this game, which should be an absolute cracker.

"I thought Tottenham's tactics would suit Arsenal last week and allow them to hit them on the counter-attack, and the same applies here. When Liverpool turn the ball over, they are pretty devastating on the break, so the key for Spurs when they commit men forward will be to get the balance right. It will make for one hell of a game.

"Probably no one fancies Spurs to come out on top, other than me, but that's what I think will happen, with the wheels coming off for Klopp properly this time."

Merson is in disagreement with Sutton with his prediction of Liverpool's clash against Tottenham. The former Arsenal star believes that the Reds will claim a 4-2 victory, with both pundits believing that the fixture will be a high-scoring match.

"Jurgen Klopp only has two more home games and his players will want to put on a show to give him the send-off he deserves," wrote Merson for Sportskeeda. "Tottenham always have a go and score a lot of goals, so this game could be incredibly entertaining.

"Liverpool hadn’t won the league title in over 30 years, so Klopp is definitely their best manager in the Premier League era. I’m a big fan of him, he’s an outstanding manager who has made them a force to be reckoned with again.

"Arne Slot has big shoes to fill, let me put it this way. I don’t know much about him, but it’s hard to follow in the footsteps of someone so legendary, so he has his work cut out for him.

"The Klopp-Mohamed Salah touchline incident was a bit sad to see. They’re both Liverpool legends, so I don’t want to see it end like this. I’m not aware of the exact details of the incident so I don’t want to speculate, but whatever it was, I hope they can put it past them and enjoy the rest of the campaign."