Tottenham's Injury Crisis Deepens: 13 Stars Missing as Liverpool Showdown Looms

Tottenham Hotspur may face their crucial trip to Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday without up to 13 squad members.

Spurs surprisingly find themselves embroiled in a relegation fight, desperately seeking points to avoid the unimaginable drop to the Championship. With only nine Premier League matches left, the clock is ticking for the North London club, who sit merely one point clear of the drop zone entering this weekend.

A tough fixture against defending champions Liverpool is hardly what embattled manager Igor Tudor wants this weekend, with their hopes of securing a positive result on Merseyside severely hampered by a catastrophic injury crisis.

Tudor announced three additional player withdrawals for Sunday's trip north during his pre-match media briefing as the situation deteriorates further for an already depleted squad.

Tottenham's Staggering Absentee List

Tottenham's Staggering Absentee List

Following their painful 5–2 loss at Atlético Madrid on Tuesday evening, two additional players joined the injury list in Spain's capital. Tudor has confirmed that both Cristian Romero and João Palhinha will miss this weekend due to concussion protocols, after the Spurs duo collided heads during injury time at the Metropolitano.

Tudor also disclosed that Yves Bissouma, who was unavailable in midweek having been excluded from Tottenham's Champions League roster, had sustained a muscle problem and would miss the Liverpool encounter.

Spurs were already aware they would be missing Micky van de Ven due to suspension following his damaging red card in the recent 3–1 loss to Crystal Palace, while Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie are also unavailable in defense. On a more positive note, the latter is anticipated to return shortly.

The unavailability of Palhinha and Bissouma presents another headache for Tudor in the middle of the park, with the Croatian manager already missing Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski in central areas. Connor Gallagher remains questionable as he fights off illness, though the January signing is expected to participate.

Tottenham's forward line isn't as severely affected by fitness concerns but both Wilson Odobert and Mohammed Kudus are unavailable. The former will miss the remainder of the campaign, while the latter should return following the March international window.

A severely weakened squad will make the journey to Anfield seeking their first triumph at the ground since 2011. Considering they have also shipped 17 goals across their previous four visits, prospects appear extremely grim for the North London outfit.

Liverpool Has No Excuses Ahead of Crunch Clash

Liverpool Has No Excuses Ahead of Crunch Clash

While their troubles pale in comparison to Tottenham's, Liverpool also find themselves in an uncomfortable position. They have suffered defeat in two of their previous three matches across all competitions and continue to produce underwhelming performances, with the Reds now battling desperately for Champions League qualification.

The visit of an injury-ravaged Spurs presents an ideal opportunity for Liverpool to rediscover their winning formula and strengthen their Champions League aspirations, but matters have rarely been simple for Arne Slot's team this campaign.

Liverpool has frequently struggled against weaker opponents and the expectation to demolish Tottenham this weekend might create anxiety. They have no justification for failing to secure a comprehensive victory from Sunday's fixture, particularly given Spurs haven't won a Premier League match this calendar year.