Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool (Wednesday)

Stats Below provided by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index

Kick off 19:45

Tottenham ended their losing streak with a comfortable win at the weekend, and now face a Liverpool side unbeaten in eight straight games. Both will be looking to preserve their form heading into the Christmas period:

– Gareth Bale is having another excellent season for Tottenham, and has made 43 successful crosses at a rate of one every 26.5 minutes- only Leighton Baines has crossed the ball more often according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.

– With two goals at West Ham, Jermain Defoe made the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index team of the week and scored a higher rating than any player other than Jordi Gomez. His rate of shooting accuracy has been impressive this season at 60.8 percent (31 of his 51 attempts have been on target).

– Interestingly, Tottenham were one of only two teams to win despite covering less distance than their opponents last week. With 60.1 miles travelled compared to West Ham’s 61.0, the team was able to use a more efficient style of play to beat their opponents- Liverpool will be keen to prevent Spurs from ‘letting the ball do the work’ in this one.

– Spurs have scored at least twice in five of their last six games at White Hart Lane- Liverpool managed to frustrate a home Swansea side at the weekend however, so will be difficult to break down.

Liverpool are on a solid run of form and seem able to pick up at least a point even when the team is having an off day. For a team unbeaten in eight straight league games to be in the bottom half of the table is unusual, and the Reds could escape to eighth place with a win on Wednesday:

– Steven Gerrard never ceases to impress fans around the country, and is the only player currently playing for a bottom-half side to have notched up over 400 successful passes. At a rate of just under one every three minutes, only ten others have passed more efficiently this season.

– Luis Suarez continued to impress on Sunday despite failing to score against Swansea. The Uruguayan has made more successful dribbles than anyone else in the Premier League this season (28), and may be able to take advantage of tiring legs as Tottenham’s defence will be playing so soon after a hard fought Sunday win.

– Joe Allen covered 6.85 miles at Swansea last week, and was Liverpool’s hardest worker for a fifth consecutive game. The midfielder is becoming an increasingly vital to his team, and will be key to getting a result on Wednesday.

– The Reds are unbeaten in eight, and have only conceded more than a single goal in one of these fixtures. Fans at White Hart Lane will be hopeful of more goals to add to the three their team scored at the weekend however, and will give Liverpool a hostile reception.