Tottenham and Liverpool return to Premier League action at Wembley on Sunday after profitable weeks in the Champions League.
Spurs led European champion Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu through a Raphael Varane own goal and left with a 1-1 draw after Cristiano Ronaldo levelled from the penalty spot.
Liverpool put a poor run at home and abroad behind it by inflicting a devastating 7-0 defeat upon Maribor . Jurgen Klopp must hope that the display sparks his side's fortunes against Spurs.
Both teams will be keen to show its credentials in terms of being active participants in the title race. Defeat for either will make viewing that scrap from a distance a little more likely.
Form guide
The onus is on Liverpool to recapture the scintillating form it found against "top-six" rivals last season after being thumped 5-0 by Manchester City and playing out a drab 0-0 draw against Manchester United last time.
Before taking on Maribor, Klopp's men had one win in eight across all competitions and they sit nine points behind leaders City, mired in mid-table at present.
Tottenham is the closest challenger to the Manchester clubs on 17 points and must now make Wembley its fortress, after Christian Eriksen scored the only goal against Bournemouth last weekend to secure a three-point haul at the national stadium at the fourth time of asking.
Turning draws into wins is the priority for both sides, who have suffered a defeat apiece this season — Tottenham's coming at the hands of champion Chelsea.
Player Head-To-Head (Harry Kane vs Daniel Sturridge)
England strikers Harry Kane and Daniel Sturridge have seen their fortunes turn in sharply contrasting directions over the past 12 months, with the Tottenham man on the cusp of superstar status due to his phenomenal goal-scoring exploits, while Sturridge is rarely seen as reliable attack leader for Klopp.
As such, it is easy to forget that Gareth Southgate selected Sturridge and not Kane as the starting striker at the beginning of his Three Lions tenure a little over a year ago.
Injuries and Klopp's preference for using Roberto Firmino as a "false nine" have restricted Sturridge to 1047 minutes in the Premier League since the start of last season, while Kane — who had two lay-offs of his own in 2016-17 — has 3237 under his belt.
History suggests
Liverpool has been unbeaten in its last nine Premier League games against Tottenham, which is the joint-longest unbeaten run for either side in the fixture during the Premier League era.
The Reds also went nine unbeaten between 1993 and 1998 but, in games at Spurs, it is the host which holds sway.
Tottenham has 11 wins on its own patch, with Liverpool taking the points back to Merseyside on seven occasions. There have also been seven draws, while Liverpool has the overall upper hand.
Of 50 Premier League games between the pair, Liverpool has won 23 to Tottenham's 13, with 14 draws.
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