The 2017 curse still standing tall, Liverpool will look to banish the New Year rut they find themselves in when they host Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League on Saturday.
Premier League weekend schedule
As a result of their pathetic form in the new year, where they have won just one match in ten, Liverpool find themselves out of two cup competitions and pretty much out of the running for the Premier League title.
It wasn't that long ago that Liverpool were being tipped as the biggest challengers to Chelsea for the EPL crown, five winless games in the Premier League have meant the Reds are no longer real challengers.
As it stands, 13 points separates Liverpool from Chelsea, and while that lead can be cut down to ten, considering the form that the Blues are in at the moment and the amount of games remaining, it looks like being too big a gap to overhaul for Jurgen Klopp's side.
So, the primary focus for Liverpool will now be to try and finish in the top four so that they will be playing Champions League football next season. In order to do that, a win over Tottenham will be welcome.
Klopp's side have a pretty good record against the top six this season – it is against the lesser guns that they have struggled and, as a result, find themselves out of contention for the Premier League title – so Liverpool, who drew 1-1 with Spurs at White Hart Lane in August, will hope to put on a strong performance and end their wait for a win in the new year.
"It's rather positive than anything else, but it doesn't help a lot," Klopp said when asked if Liverpool's record against the top six teams is a good thing. "It's not that we think now, 'OK, thank God we're playing Tottenham and nobody else' or something like this.
"We brought ourselves into a situation where if we play really good and win – which will be really difficult, as everybody knows – then everybody will say, 'Against the top teams, they are good.'
"But if we don't perform, it's another not-good information for us, so we have to make sure we are really ready for this game."
Spurs have been one of the form teams in the Premier League. And if Chelsea weren't so good, the gap to the top would have been a lot smaller. For now, though, Tottenham find themselves nine points off the leaders, so getting that down to six and putting the pressure on Antonio Conte's team, who play Burnley on Sunday, will be key if they are to sustain their own title challenge.
"It will be an important game and if we are capable of winning and achieving the three points it will be important for us to keep our position in the table and try to put pressure on Chelsea," Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said. "It's true that it's not a decisive game but it's a very important game."
When to Watch Live
Liverpool vs Spurs is scheduled for a 11pm IST (5.30pm GMT, 12.30pm ET) start.
TV and live streaming information
India: TV: Star Sports Select HD1. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: BT Sport 1. Live Streaming: Watch BT Sport.
Malaysia: TV: Astro SuperSport.
Singapore: TV: 102 mio Stadium.
USA: TV: NBCSN, Telemundo. Live Streaming: NBC Sports Live.
Canada: TV: TSN1, TSN3, TSN4. Live Streaming: TSN TV.
Middle East, Thailand and North Africa: TV: Bein Sports Arabia. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
Germany, Japan, Switzerland: DAZN.
Australia: TV: Optus Sport. Live Streaming: Optus Online.
