Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool preview - Poch undecided on Fazio

Posted Saturday, August 30, 2014 by PA

New signing Federico Fazio could make his Tottenham debut this weekend, although Roberto Soldado is a doubt to face Liverpool.

Spurs head coach Mauricio Pochettino has yet to decided whether centre-back Fazio, who arrived from Sevilla on Wednesday, will feature at White Hart Lane.

Soldado may be absent again with a neck and back issue, while Kyle Walker and Michel Vorm are out through injury.

Pochettino is well aware of the threat posed by Liverpool, but does not want his players to approach Sunday's encounter differently to any of their other matches this season.

Spurs start the weekend top of the Barclays Premier League, having followed up a 1-0 win at West Ham with an impressive 4-0 thrashing of Harry Redknapp's QPR.

That 100 per cent start to life under the former Southampton boss has extended to the Europa League, where a 2-1 win at AEL Limassol was followed up on Thursday by a 3-0 triumph in the second leg of their play-off tie.

Tottenham go looking for a fifth successive win when Liverpool arrive in north London on Sunday - a match Pochettino wants his players to approach in the same manner as recent games.

"We are looking forward to Sunday," he said. "I think it is a great game, a tough game. We are looking forward to it. We will try to win the three points.

"For me, all games are a big a test. It is true that Liverpool were second last season and they have invested a lot of money on buying different players.

"Yes, it is a big test but we need to put in place a mentality to get three points. We need this mentality for Sunday like we had in the last games."

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has been impressed by the impact Mario Balotelli has made in training with the Reds but is keen to stress that no individual is a bigger star than the team.

Maverick striker Balotelli is in contention to make his debut at Spurs following his move from AC Milan earlier this week.

Rodgers said: "He is fine. He has settled in very well and has looked fantastic in training.

"He is a good lad. The focus is very much on his football and he has done very well.

"He is moving to Merseyside. He is engrossing himself into the club and the people, but more importantly into his football. I look forward to seeing that development over the coming years."

When Rodgers was then asked about the excitement among Liverpool fans at the Italy international's arrival, the manager said: "This is not the Mario Balotelli show.

"He is a good player, a talented player. But he has got a lot of work to do here. We have a number of top-class players and the star of this team will always be the team."