We are now one week away from the first leg of Tottenham's Europa League semi-final encounter against Bodo/Glimt. Before the game against the Norwegian side comes around, Ange Postecoglou's Spurs team have a showdown with Liverpool to contend with.
Tottenham do not fare well at Anfield, with the team shipping four goals in each of their last three fixtures at Liverpool's home. The last of those came back in February as Arne Slot's team ran riot in a 4-0 win to secure a place in the Carabao Cup final after losing the first leg at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 1-0.
Supporters always fear games at Anfield and this one will certainly be no different with the Lilywhites currently languishing 16th in the Premier League table. Tottenham could potentially be in 17th position come Sunday's 4:30pm kick-off as West Ham, who are one place behind them right now, take on Brighton & Hove Albion away 24 hours earlier.
After the disappointment of losing 2-1 against Nottingham Forest on Monday, Spurs will be looking to put things right and restore some confidence prior to their Europa League return. So what will be on Postecoglou's to-do list leading up to the trip to Anfield? football.london takes a look below.
Sort out defensive issues
Tottenham have been conceding goals far too easily this season, with the last two Premier League fixtures against Wolves and Nottingham Forest prime examples. Forest found themselves 2-0 to the good after 16 minutes on Monday night and Spurs were incredibly lucky it wasn't actually 3-0 as Chris Wood had a goal chalked off for offside moments earlier.
The second goal on the night was so bad from a Tottenham perspective as Wood just eased between Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven to get to his head to the ball and Guglielmo Vicario was then caught in no man's land after coming out for the ball and getting nowhere near it.
Liverpool are the Premier League top goalscorers this season and they will be licking their lips at the prospect of adding to the 75 goals they have already netted. Spurs can shut teams out, as was the case in last Thursday's 1-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt, and they will have to be at the top of their game to keep Mohamed Salah and Co. quiet.
Defensive pairing
All the talk of Tottenham's defensive frailties leads us on to Postecoglou's backline of choice for the game on Merseyside. Romero and Van de Ven started and played 45 minutes in the Nottingham Forest defeat at the beginning of the week as their half-time substitution was pre-planned with the Bodo/Glimt fixture in mind.
Given the importance of both players to the team and their injury issues over the course of the season, Postecoglou could choose to do exactly the same or even drop the duo to the bench for the game. Kevin Danso could certainly do with more minutes after only recently returning from injury, meaning he could be a contender to start from the off against Liverpool.
Approach vs Liverpool
The main priority for Tottenham in what remains of the season is undoubtedly winning the Europa League. Tottenham's Premier League campaign has been a complete disaster and there's a possibility they could even finish one place above the drop zone considering their final five fixtures.
While of course all eyes are on a place in the Europa League, Spurs still have to focus on the Premier League as they cannot really afford another embarrassing result going into their match against Bodo/Glimt. It remains to be seen if Postecoglou will rest his main players for the game at Anfield, mix and match or go full strength.
The boss has a big decision to make over the course of the next few days and all eyes will most definitely be on the teamsheet come 3:15pm on Sunday.
Attacking trio
Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert made their case for a starting spot in Postecoglou's first-choice Tottenham XI with bright showings against Nottingham Forest. Tel followed up a strong performance at Eintracht Frankfurt and he was involved in eight of Tottenham's ten attempts on goal in the first half.
The Frenchman certainly looks better for starting the last three games and he is putting himself in a really good position for the left-wing spot for the Bodo/Glimt double-header. Postecoglou certainly has choice out wide at present and the same goes for through the middle after Richarlison's goal on Monday.
The ex-Everton man did miss a handful of chances on goal prior to netting a late header but his strike and first 90 minutes of the season will give him a lift ahead of his return to Merseyside. Postecoglou recently mentioned that Tottenham's No.9 will be given pitch time in the next couple of games and he may have done enough to start again.
The boss will have to weigh up whether he starts main striker Dominic Solanke at his former home or he gives him limited minutes once again to ensure he is fit and firing for Bodo/Glimt. A positive showing from the attackers at Liverpool this weekend could possibly make all the difference come the first leg of the Europa League semi-final.
Son fitness update
Postecoglou will provide an update on the injury front when he previews the Liverpool game in his pre-match press conference at the end of the week. Son Heung-min's fitness will be at the top of the agenda as the Spurs captain has missed the past two outings.