Tottenham Hotspur will be in action for the first time in two weeks on Sunday when they welcome title-chasing Liverpool to North London in the headline fixture of a COVID-affected Premier League weekend.

The hosts have seen their last three games in all competitions postponed due to outbreaks, whereas Liverpool are yet to miss a game despite recording three suspected positive tests themselves during the week.

It will have been a strange experience for Tottenham to have two weeks off during what is usually the busiest period in the Premier League calendar, and only time will tell whether it proves to be a help or a hindrance in Sunday’s match.

Games against Rennes and Brighton & Hove Albion were called off due to a coronavirus outbreak in the Spurs squad, before positive cases in the Leicester City camp saw their midweek match at the King Power Stadium postponed too.

All of that means that Antonio Conte’s side have not been in action since December 5, when Lucas Moura, Davinson Sanchez and Son Heung-min were on the scoresheet in a 3-0 win over Norwich City.

That made it three Premier League wins in a row for Spurs, and another victory over Liverpool this weekend would see them string together four on the bounce for the first time since July 2020.

Tottenham’s inaction has seen them slip down to seventh in the Premier League table, although they have at least two games in hand over every other team in the league apart from Burnley, including three games in hand over fourth-placed Arsenal, whom them trail by four points.

A Champions League spot remains in Tottenham’s own hands this season, then, but Conte will not need telling that improvement is still needed.

Spurs have scored just 16 goals so far this term – only four teams have scored fewer – while before their ongoing three-game winning streak they lost five and won just two of their previous eight outings.

Liverpool certainly represent a step up in quality from the teams they have beaten in recent games too, and history does not bode well for the hosts, who have lost each of their last six meetings with the Reds.

Indeed, Spurs have only won one of their last 17 top-flight games against Liverpool, losing 12 of those, while the Merseysiders are currently enjoying their longest ever winning run away to Tottenham of three games.

Liverpool also boast a remarkable record in the month of December despite the fixture pile-up around Christmas, going unbeaten in their last 34 December league games stretching back to 2016 – the longest undefeated streak any side has ever enjoyed in a specific month of the competition.

Conte will be telling his players that those past results will have no bearing on Sunday’s game, but there is plenty for Spurs to be concerned about from Liverpool’s more recent form too.

Jurgen Klopp’s side overcame an early scare to beat Newcastle United 3-1 at Anfield on Thursday night – their 2,000th top-flight triumph, an eighth consecutive win across all competitions and a sixth in a row in the Premier League.

Goals from Diogo Jota, the perpetually record-setting Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold sealed another crucial three points which saw Liverpool keep pace with Manchester City, whom they trail by just one point at the top of the Premier League table.

Despite seeing Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones ruled out before the game due to suspected positive coronavirus tests, Klopp has questioned the logic behind a proposed ‘circuit-break’, and it is easy to see why he would want to keep Liverpool’s momentum rolling.

The Reds have now scored in an all-time club record 32 consecutive games and are also on a club-record of scoring in 26 successive away games across all competitions, while their tally of 48 goals from just 17 outings this season is eight clear of the next highest scorers.

Liverpool have also still only lost once this term – a league-low tally – although that did come on their last visit to London as West Ham United ran out 3-2 winners.

Klopp’s men have not lost back-to-back games in the capital since April 2015 and will be favourites to keep that run going this weekend, although Tottenham’s rested legs could give them more of an upper hand than expected.

Both clubs face a hectic end to the year should the fixture schedule continue as planned, with four games still to play before now and New Year’s Eve, and victory on Sunday would be the perfect springboard for either to go into that run of games full of confidence.

The Reds have now scored in an all-time club record 32 consecutive games and are also on a club-record of scoring in 26 successive away games across all competitions, while their tally of 48 goals from just 17 outings this season is eight clear of the next highest scorers.

Liverpool have also still only lost once this term – a league-low tally – although that did come on their last visit to London as West Ham United ran out 3-2 winners.

Klopp’s men have not lost back-to-back games in the capital since April 2015 and will be favourites to keep that run going this weekend, although Tottenham’s rested legs could give them more of an upper hand than expected.

Both clubs face a hectic end to the year should the fixture schedule continue as planned, with four games still to play before now and New Year’s Eve, and victory on Sunday would be the perfect springboard for either to go into that run of games full of confidence.