The Premier League returns with a bang on Saturday lunchtime when Tottenham host Liverpool at Wembley in what promises to be a blockbuster battle between two teams gunning to make an early season statement.
Liverpool currently top the table with 12 points from their opening four games, while Spurs are three points adrift in 5th.
There are numerous sub-plots, narratives and talking points surrounding the match, including the battle between two of the protagonists: Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp.
Below we analyse both their individual and head-to-head records ahead of the crunch clash.
Head-To-Head Record
In total the duo have locked horns seven times in their managerial careers. All seven meetings have taken place in England, six of which have been in the Premier League, with Klopp recording two wins to Pochettino’s one, while the managers have shared the spoils on four occasions.
The first duel came back in October 2015, in what was actually Klopp’s first match in charge of Liverpool after he was named as Brendan Rodgers replacement. Unfortunately, the game itself wasn’t exactly a thriller - 0-0 - whereas the season’s reverse fixture finished 1-1.
A third consecutive draw took place in August of the following campaign, but Liverpool then won 2-1 in the cup, and 2-0 in the league.
Last October Pochettino bagged his first victory over Klopp, and it was a convincing one too, as Spurs ran out 4-1 winners at Wembley.
Then in February the teams played out an enthralling 2-2 draw at Anfield, which saw Kane miss a late penalty, Mo Salah instantly put the hosts 2-1 ahead, then Kane scored a 95th minute spot-kick to snatch a point - scroll down for video.
Standings, Points & Spend
In the three seasons that the gaffers have both been in the Premier League - at the same time - Pochettino has led Spurs to 3rd, 2nd, then 3rd again last season, amassing 227 points and spending only £184m in that time frame (courtesy of @TonyWallace5).
This tops the record of his counterpart Klopp, whose Liverpool side slumped to 8th spot in his first campaign, before bouncing back with consecutive 4th place finishes, with a total of 210 points, but with a spend of a whopping £400m.
However, neither manager has yet to get their hands on silverware on English soil, although Klopp was an immense success in his previous job at Borussia Dortmund, with whom he led to consecutive Bundesliga titles. Meanwhile, Pochettino is still waiting to lift his first trophy as a manager.
Top-6 Six Record
In Pochettino’s first season he picked up eight points against the top-6 sides, then 15 points in the following two terms, and 13 points last time out, winning 40% of the games in the latter. So far this season Tottenham have one win from one in top-6 matches - a 3-0 hammering of Jose Mourinho’s Man United at Old Trafford.
Klopp took 13 points from nine games against top-6 sides in his first season - he arrived in October 2015 - then in 2016/17 he accumulated a whopping 22 points from 10 undefeated matches against Liverpool’s rivals. However, last season the Reds mustered less than half of that tally - 10 points - with only two wins to his name, none of which came on the road.
Klopp hasn’t enjoyed the best of times at Wembley. Back in 2013 his Dortmund side lost late on to rivals Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, which was followed by a penalty shoot-out defeat in 2016 as Liverpool were defeated by Man City in the League Cup final. Klopp returned to the stadium in October, only for the Reds to sink to a heavy 4-1 defeat to Spurs.
On the other hand Pochettino’s Spurs won 10 of their 18 league games at Wembley last season, bagging a total of 34 points - only champions City grabbed more points and win on home soil. Tottenham’s only home game so far this season was a 3-1 victory over new boys.
Pochettino’s men are priced at 2/1 to come out on top again this time around, although it’s Klopp’s troops who head into the match as the 7/5 favourites. Alternatively, a draw can be backed at 13/5.
