Tottenham Hotspur face Liverpool in their first ever Champions League final a week today, as both teams are set to meet in Madrid to fight it out for the Champions of Europe title.
Unusually this season, there is a 20-day gap between the final day of the Premier League and the Champions League final, giving each team just under three weeks to prepare.
While Pochettino has chosen to stay at Hotspur Way to train with his squad, Klopp took his team out to Marbella for a training camp and a friendly match (Standard).
Liverpool have lost just one match in all competitions since January 2019, and that was a defeat away to Barcelona. In the same time period, Spurs have come up on the losing side nine times.
Tottenham have also been able to use the abundance of time between the Prem and the CL final to get multiple players back from injury, including Harry Kane, Harry Winks, Jan Vertonghen, and Davinson Sanchez (Daily Mail).
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes Spurs have been given two advantages over Liverpool during this 20 day period.
He said (Anfield Wrap Podcast – ep 399 – as quoted by Standard): “It’s a weird one really, you normally go away and that’s what Liverpool have done going to Marbella.
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“No-one’s been able to give me a reason why the Champions League is three weeks after the league campaign. It’s normally two weeks, where you have the FA Cup then the week after is the Champions League.
“That’s p***ed me off a little bit that, to be honest. I think it probably helps Spurs more than us, I would say.
“I think they’ve got bigger injury problems than us, certainly with Harry Kane, Harry Winks, other little knocks they had towards the end of the season. It gives you an extra week to be fit.
“I think we’re in much better form than Tottenham in 2019 and a longer break will not help that, really, in some ways. You do worry because you lose a bit of that rhythm that Liverpool have had the way they’ve been playing.
“I don’t think Tottenham are in great form. I know they got through and it’s unbelievable what they’ve done, I love Pochettino, but they’re not in great form so a longer break will help them forget the bad form and focus on this one game.”
Spurs Web Opinion:
What a load of rubbish. Carragher seems to be looking for excuses before the game has even been played. It has been exactly the same gap for both teams, each being given the same amount of time to prepare in any which way they like. Liverpool will also likely have Firmino back for the final too. I’m not really sure what point Jamie is trying to make. Hopefully both sides have the strongest possible XI out on the pitch and may the best team win.
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