'Only Suarez could have scored it'
Tottenham fan Dave Tickner from Sportinglife.com provides the view from White Hart Lane ahead of Spurs' trip to Anfield this weekend.
Presumably life is pretty good as a Spurs fan right now...
It really is. 12 games unbeaten in the league. Third in the league, looking down on the inferior London clubs. Back-to-back London derby wins. Thrashing Inter Milan. The Welsh Ronaldo. AVB proving a wide variety of appalling idiots wrong. Obviously, being Spurs fans, we're mainly thinking about precisely when and how badly it's all going to go the shape of a pear.
Gareth Bale: as good as the media makes out?
No. How could he be? But he is a ludicrously talented footballer who is improving at an astonishing rate. As recently as the turn of the year, the Guardian could list him at number 40 in their list of the best 100 players in the world and not look silly. He's got pace, power, stamina and a magical left foot. He's only going to keep getting better.
How do you stop him?
Despite the hype, and what I've just written, he's actually been fairly peripheral in the last two league games. He completed only something like 10 passes in the North London derby. The fact he's scored three goals in those two games shows just how dangerous he is, and what a difficult task it is to contain him for 90 minutes even when he's not at his marauding best. West Ham decided to stand off him, frightened by his pace; Arsenal closed him down, wary of his shooting ability. If you look closely, you'll see I've cleverly managed to avoid answering the question. Well done me.
Bale, van Persie or Suarez for Player of the Year?
I'd put Juan Mata in the mix there as well, actually. I think he's been annoyingly excellent again this season despite Chelsea's entertaining woes. I'd find it hard to split Suarez and Bale. In an increasingly workaday Premier League, they're the two players most capable of producing those special moments that make you gasp and remind you just how great this game can be. Suarez's goal against Newcastle at Anfield is still my goal of the season because of the magical combination of imagination and execution. I don't think any other player in the league right now could've scored it. I think I've managed to answer by not answering again. Ah, sod it: Bale. I'm biased.
What's the key to beating Spurs?
Quick, accurate passing in behind the high defensive line. It's not as easy as it is against, say, Arsenal (haha!) because Hugo Lloris is a brilliant sweeper-keeper and the ultimate bud-nipper of any threat to his goal.
What kind of team can we expect after your Europa League exploits?
Probably fairly similar, to be honest. We've not generally made many changes for the Thursday-Sunday fun that is the Europa League. Lloris will obviously come back into the XI and I'd imagine Dawson will replace Gallas, but that will be it.
Prediction?
I've got a decent record on this, I think, calling the last two Spurs wins at White Hart Lane and last year's draw at Anfield. I say this not to brag, but to bring you good news because I actually quite fancy a Liverpool win this weekend. We've had three emotionally and physically draining wins against West Ham, Arsenal and Inter; I just fear there has to be a crash at some stage. (See question one.) With Daniel Sturridge back - I've been really surprised just how good he's been since joining you - alongside Suarez I'll go for both to find the net in a 2-1 home win. Bale to score our goal, obviously.