LONDON, Oct 25 — Tottenham Hotspur’s poor start does not mean they have forgotten how to play football and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp expects the north London club to put in a ‘proper performance’ when they visit Anfield in the Premier League on Sunday.

Liverpool lead the table by six points ahead of Manchester City, while Spurs are seventh, 13 points behind the leaders.

Both teams had good results in the Champions League in midweek, with Spurs thumping Red Star Belgrade 5-0 and Liverpool beating Genk 4-1 and Klopp said his team were more concerned by Spurs’ latest performance than their earlier struggles.

“What I can say is we saw a very good Tottenham side on Tuesday night and that’s what we think about,” the German told a news conference today. “Not why Tottenham’s start to the season is not as (the media) and they expected.

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“It’s not that they forgot how to play football, that Harry Kane doesn’t know how any more. They are always able to put in a proper performance on the pitch. That’s what we have to expect.

“We will not be so confident that absolutely nothing can happen to us and they will not play like a team with the points tally they have. They are a top side in the Premier League and will be a top side the whole season.”

Klopp also said that defenders Andy Robertson, Trent-Alexander Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip, as well as goalkeeper Alisson Becker were all in contention to start.

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Midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored twice in Wednesday’s win over Genk and Klopp praised the 26-year-old’s return to form after the knee injury that kept him out almost the whole of last season.

“It was a serious injury... In the best moment in your career you don’t think too much, you just do. That’s the main thing you lose in rehab,” Klopp said. “You get fit again but the flow, the rhythm, that’s not too easy.

“To become really reliable again needs time. My expectations of Ox are pretty high, so I’m impressed by his goals, but there’s lots more to come.” — Reuters