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All the best images from Anfield where Liverpool will be trying to extend their unbeaten home run and Spurs will be going for a win to keep their title dreams alive

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Kenny Dalglish says Luis Suárez is keen to play against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night following his eight-match suspension for racially abusing Patrice Evra but the manager is not sure whether to throw him in at the deep end.

The Liverpool manager said of Suárez, who has not played since the 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day: “He’ll want to play, won’t he? There is a lot to be taken into consideration – the way the other boys have played without him and the fact he has not played for a month.

“After five or six weeks out, it’s not automatic someone will come straight back into the team. It depends on the individual, it depends on our needs; not just who we have available but who we are playing against.”

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• Uruguayan will lift Anfield club, says Kevin Bond
• Spurs can get a result, says assistant manager

Kevin Bond believes that Luis Suárez’s probable return for Liverpool against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Monday night will make it harder for Harry Redknapp’s side. Spurs are third and know that beating Liverpool will keep their championship hopes alive.

Suárez has been serving an eight-match ban for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra earlier in the season and Bond, the assistant manager, said of his likely return to action: “The introduction of Suárez on a night match at Anfield – they’re going to be a real tough nut. It will give them a lift – as if they need a lift. You can imagine it, the crowd will be rooting for him hugely. They are flying – so you never know, he might not get in the side.

“He’s a good player. He’s a fantastic player and has been a fantastic signing for Liverpool. You’d have expected them to really sorely miss him. Maybe a couple of results have gone against them in his absence but they’ve just had three big wins without him and now they’ve got him as well.”

Spurs beat Liverpool 2-0 in the corresponding fixture last season and Bond said the side can take heart for this: “It was a real big performance up there last year. I’m sure the lads will reflect on that and think if we go about our job we can go to Anfield and get a result. We definitely need to get something there. Last year’s win will give us a bit of a lift. Players have favourite grounds, strikers have certain teams they think they always do well against. We focus on that factor to help them.”

Regarding Tottenham’s title hopes Bond said: “When we were eight points adrift [before midweek games] that wasn’t bang in the title race but now it’s five and we’re nearer. A lot of things will change. Next week it might be two points or you might have a blip and you’re back to eight and effectively out of it. It’s an ever-changing situation and I see it like that for the rest of the season. We’re only a couple of results away from the teams above us, which is terrific.”

Manchester City, the leaders, dropped three points when Everton beat them 1-0 last Tuesday and Bond said: “If his opinion was it was a two-horse race, now his opinion is different. It’s exactly what I mean. One minute we’re 20-1 and the next we’re 10-1 on the back of one result.

“I don’t see City collapsing. It’s a disappointing result but it’s never easy playing away to Everton. They had a great result against us [3-2 at the Etihad last month]. Come the back end of the season experience will count for a lot, which means [Manchester] United have the edge on everybody. They’ve been in tight title races come March and April before. Most of the time they come out on top. They’ve been there and done it and that’s in their favour. United will relish that close finish. We’ve not been in this situation before and they seem to thrive on it.”

Regarding Emmanuel Adebayor, who has scored nine goals but none since 22 December, Bond said: “You haven’t got to do anything to keep Ade’s spirits up. He’s a great guy. He’s had a few chances that haven’t gone in lately. That’s how it is for strikers but we’re not dwelling on that. He’s a very positive guy. He’s been terrific for us. He’s chased people down, he’s everywhere and anywhere. The fact that he hasn’t hit the net recently doesn’t mean he hasn’t made a big contribution.”

• Kenny Dalglish may not start striker against Spurs
• ‘It’s not automatic [he] will come straight into the team’

Kenny Dalglish says Luis Suárez is keen to play against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night following his eight-match suspension for racially abusing Patrice Evra but the manager is not sure whether to throw him in at the deep end.

The Liverpool manager said of Suárez, who has not played since the 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day: “He’ll want to play, won’t he? There is a lot to be taken into consideration – the way the other boys have played without him and the fact he has not played for a month.

“After five or six weeks out, it’s not automatic someone will come straight back into the team. It depends on the individual, it depends on our needs; not just who we have available but who we are playing against.”

Suárez has always been good at beginnings; almost exactly a year ago he scored at Anfield 16 minutes into his Liverpool debut. It was his first domestic club game since a seven-match suspension for biting PSV Eindhoven’s Otman Bakkal while playing for Ajax two and a half months before.

At the start of this season, Suárez had been given three weeks off after playing the pivotal role in Uruguay’s Copa América triumph. He was thrown straight into the opening fixture against Sunderland and scored after a dozen minutes before fading badly in the second half.

Dalglish said he was astonished that Suárez, Andy Carroll and Steven Gerrard have spent only 69 minutes together on the pitch. The combination of two very different strikers, who cost Liverpool £58m, supplied by perhaps the finest English midfielder of his generation should have been irresistible. However, injuries, Suárez’s suspension and Carroll’s indifferent form have meant the trio have barely featured together.

But all are available for the match on Monday night. Gerrard was rested for the 3-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers but will return at Anfield. Carroll, who had not scored a Premier League goal in three months, found the net at Molineux while there is an argument for reintroducing Suárez in front of his own supporters.

The alternative would be pitching him in at Old Trafford for his first game since his ban. “I had no idea Stevie, Luis and Andy had played so infrequently together but they have been injured at different times,” said Dalglish. “We’d better put them together in training to see if they can play together.

“Steven was overworked in the run-up to the Wolves game; we were probably a little unfair on him asking him to play against Manchester City, Manchester United and Bolton. It was best he got a well-deserved break but he should be back.

“Certainly, things are looking better. Andy is looking strong now at the end of games – he was running strongly at the end of the Wolves match.”

When Suárez and Carroll were paraded 12 months ago, the talk was that they would form the kind of little and large partnership Anfield had not seen since Kevin Keegan and John Toshack formed the spearhead of Bill Shankly’s sides.

In the event, they have made little impact as a pairing and Dalglish said they might have to adapt like Dirk Kuyt, who came to Merseyside from Feyenoord as an out-and-out striker, has done. “If they are asked to play in a position that might not be a number one choice but they are comfortable in, then that is helpful.”

They will be facing the only side to have won at Anfield since Dalglish’s return, although the Liverpool manager said that game in May featured “the stupidest penalty I have ever seen”.

There were no excuses for the 4-0 beating Tottenham handed out at White Hart Lane in September. The dismissals of Charlie Adam and Martin Skrtel may have contributed to the size of the defeat but Harry Redknapp’s side had been in command before the red cards came out. Even after Spurs had endured heavy defeats by City and United early in the season, Dalglish predicted Tottenham would be “right up there” come the business end of the campaign and he still considers them championship material.

“If they hadn’t had so many players unavailable at the start then the results they got against the two Manchester clubs may have been a little bit more positive,” he said. “They deserve to be where they are, if not higher. There are still 15 games to go. They can still do it.”

Michael Gove wrote to Premier League football clubs urging them to back his plans for free schools and academies

Tottenham Hotspur football club is in talks to host a free school at its stadium after Michael Gove, the education secretary, wrote to every Premier League club urging them to back his reforms.

Following the letter from Gove, the club, whose manager Harry Redknapp is on trial for tax evasion, is planning to build a new stadium close to its current ground, White Hart Lane, with space set aside for “educational use”.

The club said it had held talks with a number of groups interested in establishing a free school at the stadium but had yet to decide who would take the space in the 56,000-capacity arena.

The development, which was uncovered by the BBC’S Sunday Politics London show, adds a new twist to the controversial free schools programme.

Gove wrote that he hoped football clubs might meet him to discuss sponsoring an academy or setting up a free school. He said: “It would be possible to ensure that training is incorporated effectively into the school day without disrupting pupils’ academic studies.”

He added: “Football clubs… are pillars of their communities and invest time, money and energy into young people. The work you are doing is having a positive impact on young people’s lives. Your experience and drive would be hugely beneficial to children in your local area, who would be inspired by going to a school that their local football club is involved with.”

Redknapp and Milan Mandaric, his former boss at Portsmouth Football Club, are accused of colluding to conceal payments of £187,000 in a Monaco bank account. Both deny the charges.

A group of parents and teachers called the Academy of Entrepreneurship and Sporting Excellence (AESE) is campaigning for a free school in Tottenham and has partnered with the charity founded by Lord Harris, owner of Carpetright. The Harris Federation runs 13 academies and is expected to submit plans for the new free school to the Department for Education by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, Tottenham has dropped its campaign to move into the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, and the club is committed to its original plan for a new stadium near White Hart Lane.

A spokesman for the Harris Federation said: “We would certainly look to work closely with Tottenham Hotspur if the free school gets the go-ahead to open, wherever in the area it is located, just as we would wish to partner any major organisation in the areas our schools serve.”

Adam Davison, head of community relations at Spurs, told the Sunday Politics London show, which airs today, that the club was exploring its options. He said: “Tottenham Hotspur Football Club believes education has the potential to play an important role in the new stadium redevelopment and could bring great benefit to the wider community.

“The club has been approached by groups and organisations who are interested in exploring the opportunities on the Spurs site but is not endorsing any one proposal at this time and is keen to explore all the options before committing to anyone. All options for education provision will be considered in the context of the club’s vision and ethos, community benefit and financial viability.”

Tottenham’s deal of the week; the football family; Colombia’s ‘gay contagion’; plus Grandpa’s two-match ban

Deal of the week

• £27m: Public money now committed to keeping Spurs in Tottenham – £9m from Haringey council, plus £18m from London’s riot-recovery fund. • £2.7bn: Tax-exile Spurs owner Joe Lewis’s fortune, partly from currency trades in 1992 which helped push the pound out of the ERM and cost the Treasury £3.3bn. Spurs, controlled by offshore Enic, are “delighted by the mayor and the council … We always said we could only invest in this area if our commitment was supported by others.”

Football family news

1) Woman of the week: ex-Zimbabwe FA head Henrietta Rushwaya, arrested in Harare. Rushwaya denies running a “vast” match-fixing racket; using Robert Mugabe’s agents to “intimidate players”; and stealing items of FA property after being sacked in 2010, including four trucks and three buses. Rushwaya said last year she was moving on. “I will retrain as a pastor. I’m a born-again Henrietta.”

2) Comeback of the week: Horace Burrell, Jamaica’s FA president, banned by Fifa in October for three months for his part in the cash-for-votes scandal. Sepp: “We are shaking the tree until all bad apples have fallen to the ground.” Last week: Back in the game, named on Fifa’s 17-man Olympic committee. Burrell: “I’m humbled. I’m a servant of football in the strictest sense.”

3) Best newcomer: Rustam Emomali - son of Tajik president Emomali Rahmon, whose style was branded by a leaked US cable as “undemocratic”, “ruthless”, driven by “greed, family self-interest … cronyism and corruption” – appointed to Fifa’s 18-man development committee.

Other news

22,800: Tickets allocated to the Polish FA by Uefa for Euro 2012. 8,600: Number the Polish FA allocated to fans, with the rest for “officials and sponsors”. FA head Grzegorz Lato, who denied unrelated bribery allegations last year, told local media: “There will always be dissenting voices.”

Respect campaign

Colombia: FA vice-president Alvaro González Alzate says allegations that a referee sexually assaulted a colleague are evidence of “gay contagion”. “To be a referee in Colombia you have to be gay.” González Alzate says he believes officials are forced to perform sexual favours for each other if they want to progress. “Sure, no one presents evidence or dares to speak out, but I believe it. I’ve been around long enough to know there is nothing more contagious, no worse disease – with due respect to those who suffer it – than homosexuality.” Fifa referee Wílmar Roldán says the referees union will take action against González Alzate for being “creepy and outrageous … He must withdraw this.”

Manager news

Last week’s exits:

1) 16 January: Dinamo Tbilisi president Roman Pipia: “I have full confidence in Alex Garcia. Of course confidence needs justification, but he has time. Let’s see at the end of the season.” 30 January: Sacks him. Pipia says critics should back off. “When I was a president in Russia I fired many coaches. It’s my prerogative.”

2) 1 February, Flamengo president Patricia Amorim: “There is no truth to the internet rumours that Vanderlei Luxemburgo will be sacked [after today's game]. He is our coach, and that situation will not change today, tomorrow or later this month.” 2 February: “Situations change in football. We have removed the coach.”

Meanwhile

22: Number of coaches fired in Brazil’s top leagues in January, including Rio Verde’s Betão Alcântara. “It was weird. I put the radio on when I got in from training and it said I was sacked. In 30 years in football I could never have imagined it. I feel lost.”

Harry’s window

1 Jan: Harry Redknapp: “It’s extremely unlikely we will be doing any business in this window. I’ll stick with what I have.” Deadline: Signs Louis Saha, Ryan Nelsen; makes loan bid for Mauro Zárate, Marseille claim an “enormous” bid for Loïc Rémy; sells Roman Pavlyuchenko; loans out Sébastien Bassong, Stephen Pienaar, John Bostock and Vedran Corluka.

Player of the week

30 January: Tunisia’s Adel Chedli on his plans for the Africa Cup of Nations: “We have one goal here in Gabon: to honour our colours, and please every Tunisian. The flame is burning in us.” 1 February: Walks out over a lack of game-time. “The coach treats me like a kid.”

Best pledge

19 January: Former Real Madrid defender Carlos Diogo joins CSKA Sofia. “This is the Bulgarian Real Madrid. I had offers from Brazil, but this was the only place I wanted to be. I can tell the fans now: I’m here to make CSKA champions. I will win all their respect.” 2 February: Accepts better offer from Brazil. CSKA: “We could not keep him against his will.”

Bulat’s week

Switzerland: Lawyer Jacques Barillon says his client, Xamax owner Bulat Chagaev, is on hunger strike in prison. Chagaev, on remand for fraud, which he denies, is “angry about being denied cigarettes and the basic rights afforded to even serial killers”. A prison source told Le Matin that Chagaev was “still eating bread” to get through the strike, and “borrowing cigarettes from guards”.

Plus: Ban of the week

Brazil: Ceará’s mascot Grandpa – banned for two games for “a series of obscene gestures” at rival Ferroviário fans. Media say the incident followed a 2009 flare-up when Ferroviário’s mascot Jubaitola “tried to hump Grandpa” on the pitch. FA: “Grandpa will miss the games against Tiradentes and Guarani Juazeiro.”

Answer a simple question and you could be off to White Hart Lane for this enticing Premier League fixture

Liverpool exude an air of conviction now that makes it hard to recall that they were defeated at Bolton recently. Those memories are all but erased following progress in the Carling Cup and FA Cup. However, Tottenham, 11 points better off in the league, may reintroduce some anxiety to Anfield. Their firepower has been greater than that of Kenny Dalglish’s side. But Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt have recently been at their best and Liverpool have not missed Luis Suárez too badly during a now completed suspension. Kevin McCarra

Venue Anfield

Tickets Sold out

Last season Liverpool 0 Tottenham 2

Referee M Oliver

This season’s matches 12 Y27, R4, 2.58 cards per game

Odds Liverpool 11-10 Tottenham 23-10 Draw 12-5

Liverpool

Subs from Doni, Coátes, Kelly, Carragher, Rodríguez, Flanagan, Spearing, Aurélio, Shelvey, Bellamy, Kuyt

Doubtful None

Injured Lucas (knee, Jun)

Suspended None

Form guide WLDLWD

Disciplinary record Y35 R3

Leading scorer Bellamy 6

Tottenham

Subs from Gomes, Cudicini, Rose, Nelsen, Dawson, Livermore, Lennon, Kranjcar, Defoe, Giovani, Saha, Khumalo, Dawkins

Doubtful King (knee), Walker (groin), Lennon (hamstring), Defoe (hamstring), Van der Vaart (calf), Adebayor (hamstring)

Injured Huddlestone (ankle, Mar), Gallas (calf, unknown)

Suspended None Form guide WLDWWD Disciplinary record Y26 R1 Leading scorer Bale, Adebayor 9

Match pointers

• Tottenham’s 2-0 win at Anfield last season ended a run of 16 Premier League away games at Liverpool without victory

• Liverpool have only had fewer points after 11 home fixtures in two of their previous 19 Premier League seasons, although they remain undefeated at their own stadium this campaign

• Should he be selected for Spurs, Gareth Bale will make his 100th Premier League appearance

• Stewart Downing has had more shots without scoring than any other top-flight player this season (45)

• Kevin Bond defends Tottenham recruitment of over-30s players
• ‘I would be trusting Harry’s judgment,’ says Spurs assistant

Kevin Bond has told Tottenham Hotspur supporters to trust Harry Redknapp after he recruited Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen, who are both over 30, in the January transfer window. Saha, who signed from Everton until the end of the season, is 33 and Nelsen, whose free transfer was confirmed on Thursday, is 34, and Spurs fans have voiced their concerns regarding their age on message boards.

Bond, the Spurs assistant manager, said: “What you have said is news to me, I don’t look at message boards. I would be trusting Harry’s judgment, with the greatest respect to people on message boards. That’s their opinion. We think it is good business for us.

“Age becomes a consideration when they can’t do the job that you brought them in to do. Certainly, Harry will look at them between now and the end of the season to see how well they do for us, then see where we go from there.”

Bond is clear that with Saha and Nelsen’s arrival, Steven Pienaar being loaned to Everton and Roman Pavlyuchenko sold to Lokomotiv Moscow, Spurs have a more robust squad. He said: “I think we’re a stronger squad now and the January window has freshened it up, not in terms of numbers but Harry felt that one or two of them needed to go out to play some football and the others have come in and are ready to play their part. It’s been a good window for us.

“Overall you look at Louis and everybody believes he is a really, really good player. He has had one or two injury issues but it is difficult to find top-line strikers. And Louis is a top-line striker. He is a really good professional. He has been there and done it, won a championship [with Manchester United]. To have people like that in our squad will be really important for us.

“Harry is very shrewd when it comes to bringing players into the club and knowing what we need – and what he feels the squad needs. That is what he [Louis] has done, both as a player and as a personality. He and Ryan will have a positive influence on the club, not just on the field.

“He [Redknapp] has done that before, there were a number of them when he was at Portsmouth – with Teddy Sheringham, people thought he was miles past his best but he did really really well for us [and] Paul Merson did unbelievably for Harry. He has made a number before, hopefully he has done with a couple more.”

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