Tottenham Hotspur have been the unluckiest team in the Premier League with injuries and absences these past two seasons, and even new interim manager Igor Tudor cannot help but give exasperated exclamations in press conferences that this is a situation he has never seen before - and he has been around the block many times in world football.
On Sunday, Tottenham will face another stiff test in the league against reigning champions Liverpool, as they are increasingly closer to the relegation zone following another awful defeat last week, 3-1 to local rivals Crystal Palace.
Compounding matters was a concerning collision late in the game between captain Crisitan Romero, who had just returned from a suspension, and defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha. Tudor is now confirming that both players will be out against Liverpool.
Joao Palhinha and Cristian Romero are out
In addition, Micky van de Ven is out with a suspension, meaning Tottenham will be without their starting center back duo. Veteran center midfielder Yves Bissouma is also out, per Tudor, and Conor Gallagher recently spiked a fever, putting his status in some question. That means Spurs are going to be without three more players due to injury, Van de Ven to suspension, and even potentially Gallagher being a fifth man out with illness.
Tudor said, via Football.London's Alasdair Gold, "No, Romero and Palhinha out. Micky is out. Bissouma has a problem and Conor has a fever but we hope he will be ok. Always something happen. Very rare and I've never seen this in my career."
That means Igor Tudor and Tottenham Hotspur will have to turn to Radu Dragusin and Kevin Danso as the center backs with Archie Gray, Pape Matar Sarr, and Xavi Simons as the midfield trio. Tudor has been playing folks, including Gray and Pedro Porro, out of position to mask holes due to injuries and suspensions, so it is possible we see some more annoying curveballs in the announced starting lineup on Sunday.
Liverpool are not in their best period this season and are asking serious questions about their own manager, Arne Slot, but they have a much stronger squad than Spurs and have been much better in the table this season. So Sunday's game is going to be very tough, and the real key will be if the players can start rallying mentally with more effort while cutting down on the sort of individual errors that have made getting results even tougher for them.