Jurgen Klopp will be hoping Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott can lead Liverpool to victory against Tottenham Hotspur

Jurgen Klopp will be hoping Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott can lead Liverpool to victory against Tottenham Hotspur

Liverpool will hope to put a difficult April behind it later today. Tottenham make the trip to Anfield in what will be Jürgen Klopp’s penultimate home game in charge.

With just three games remaining, there is little more than pride for the Reds to play for now. Arsenal and Manchester City have pulled ahead in the title race, while next season’s Champions League spot is already wrapped up.

Third place could even be certain before kick-off if Aston Villa drop points at Brighton. Regardless though, Liverpool will want to return to better form before the end of the season, having won just one of its last five league games.

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If the Reds are to get back to winning ways, it looks as though they’ll have to do it without Virgil van Dijk. The Liverpool captain missed training during the week, and was only expected to be involved in ‘parts’ of Friday’s session.

Diogo Jota remains out, although Conor Bradley could make a return to the squad after recovering from his recent knock. Meanwhile, there will be plenty of people waiting to see whether Mohamed Salah gets the nod after his outburst at West Ham.

With his team not in the best form at the moment, Klopp will face some big decisions with his side this afternoon. These are the teams that some of our Liverpool.com writers would select.

Matt Addison - Mohamed Salah comes back in

There is little riding on this game for Liverpool but I'm still expecting a strong line-up. The back five should pick itself with enough time between games for Ibrahima Konaté to start. The only question is over Virgil van Dijk; if he is missing, I'd go with Joe Gomez in his place as the left-sided center-back.

In midfield, Alexis Mac Allister is a certainty. I'm going with Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones. Normally, I'm a big advocate for Dominik Szoboszlai, but it makes more sense to give Elliott a go here given the pair's recent form. The Hungarian can make do with a place on the bench here, with Elliott deserving of a start.

In the attack, Mohamed Salah's antics last weekend were unacceptable but I'd be surprised if he didn't start here. Luis Díaz is an absolute certainty and then it's a choice between Cody Gakpo and Darwin Núñez given that Diogo Jota is still out. Like with Elliott and Szoboszlai, I'd normally go for Núñez but Gakpo is in the better form at the moment. The Uruguayan can come off the bench.

My starting XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Van Dijk (Gomez), Robertson; Elliott, Mac Allister, Jones; Salah, Gakpo, Díaz

Predicted scoreline: 2-1 to Liverpool.

One thing to watch:Mohamed Salah to score.

James Findlater - Darwin Núñez returns

All eyes will be on Mohamed Salah. Will he start after last week’s bust-up with Jürgen Klopp?

It certainly wasn’t a great look for the Egyptian to be arguing with his manager on the sideline. For me though, I’d be bringing him back into the side. The rest of the forwards don’t really look like scoring at the moment, so it’s a bit of a no-brainer to bring your top scorer back into the side.

I’d also be bringing Darwin Núñez back in. Again, he hasn’t been in the best of form recently, but if you’re selecting the strongest Liverpool side, then he makes it.

Then again, Virgil van Dijk looks as though he’ll be missing, so this won’t be Klopp’s strongest team. I’d be going with Ibrahima Konaté and Jarell Quansah at the heart of the defense in the captain’s absence.

In midfield, Alexis Mac Allister is a certainty, but who do you put with him? The rest of the engine room hasn’t been in great form, which makes things much more difficult.

Since he had to make do with a place on the bench at West Ham, I’d recall Dominik Szoboszlai and give him a chance to rediscover some form before the end of the season. Ryan Gravenberch hasn’t done too badly when called upon recently, so he can retain his place.

My starting XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Quansah, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Núñez, Díaz

Predicted scoreline: 2-1 to Liverpool.

One thing to watch: Mohamed Salah to get back to scoring ways.

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With just three games remaining, there is little more than pride for Liverpool to play for now. With Tottenham visiting Anfield this afternoon though, some revenge might be in order as well.

The Reds’ title hopes are all but over now. Just one win in the last five league games has seen Liverpool fall behind Manchester City and Arsenal, with Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta set to battle it out over the last couple of weeks.

With their Champions League place for next season already secured as well, it looks as though a third-place finish is the last thing to wrap up. A win today, or even Aston Villa dropping points at Brighton beforehand, could make that a reality.

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But as Jürgen Klopp prepares for his penultimate game at Anfield, he’ll no doubt be eager to go out on a high. Not only that, but he’ll want to claim a win over today’s opponent after the injustice in north London earlier in the season.

Klopp hasn’t forgotten what occurred at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in September. Who knows what effect Luis Díaz’s goal could have had on the season had it been rightfully awarded.

The Reds therefore will be eager to exact some revenge for that 2-1 defeat. They look like they’ll have to do it without their captain though.

Virgil van Dijk is a major doubt for today’s game, having missed training during the week. Klopp suggested on Friday that the defender could have been involved in ‘parts’ of that day’s session, but it seems unlikely he’ll be in action today.

Diogo Jota also remains out, although he will hopefully make a return before the end of the season. Conor Bradley though could make a return to the squad, having been back in training following a short lay-off. Joël Matip, Thiago Alcântara and Ben Doak remain on the sidelines.

All eyes will be on whether Mohamed Salah starts after his heated exchange with Klopp at West Ham last weekend. The Liverpool boss has insisted that the matter has been resolved, so it’s likely we could see the Egyptian return to the starting line-up.

With Jota out, it will probably be a straight battle between Darwin Núñez and Cody Gakpo to start up front. Luis Díaz should start as usual on the left.

Alexis Mac Allister is an almost certainty in midfield, but the rest of the engine room is a bit of a guess. It certainly hasn’t been performing too well recently, although having been named on the bench at West Ham, Dominik Szoboszlai could be in line for a return.

With Van Dijk likely to be missing, it will be between Ibrahima Konaté, Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah to start at the heart of the defense. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Alisson Becker will take their usual spots in the side.

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Jurgen Klopp opens up about his nine years in charge at Liverpool as he speaks to Sky Sports' Vicky Gomersall ahead of his penultimate home game in charge at the club.