Tottenham could have 13 players missing vs Liverpool as relegation crisis deepens

Tottenham have been handed yet more blows ahead of facing Liverpool at Anfield, with Igor Tudor under immense pressure as his side slides further into relegation territory

Cristian Romero has been ruled out for Tottenham's game against Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

Crisis-hit Tottenham will travel to Anfield on Sunday to face defending champion Liverpool in the Premier League whilst potentially missing as many as 13 first-team players.

Forwards Wilson Odobert, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Mohammed Kudus were already unavailable alongside midfielders Rodrigo Bentancur and Lucas Bergvall, as well as defenders Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie.

Another defender, Micky van de Ven, will also be absent from the game. He is serving a suspension following his red card in the 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace, which left Tottenham merely one point above the Premier League relegation zone and in genuine danger of dropping down for the first time since the English top flight was rebranded in 1992.

To compound matters further, captain and center-back Cristian Romero and midfielder Joao Palhinha are also ruled out after they collided heads towards the end of the 5-2 Champions League defeat at Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

Embattled Spurs manager Igor Tudor confirmed at his press conference on Friday that the crucial duo, who are believed to be undergoing concussion protocols, would be unavailable to face Liverpool.

However, the injury crisis doesn't stop there. Yves Bissouma is also considered doubtful and whilst fellow midfielder Conor Gallagher is anticipated to feature, he has been feeling under the weather.

Joao Palhinha receives medical treatment after clashing heads with his team-mate Cristian Romero (not pictured) during the Champions League match between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur(Image: Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

"No Romero and Palhinha out," Tudor confirmed. "Micky [van de Ven] is out. Yves Bissouma has a problem and Conor [Gallagher] has a fever but we hope he will be okay.

"Always something happens. It's very rare and I've never seen this in my career."

Spurs have suffered defeat in their previous six fixtures across all competitions, including the opening four under Tudor's stewardship.

Amid growing pressure for the Croatian's dismissal, he acknowledged: "Tough, for sure. Not just because of last game, but because of the period and the past.

"Not easy situation, not an easy moment and from other side a big challenge to change things. Like everything in life, you can choose how to see the situation.

"So, you can stay and cry or you can fight. You can be the victim or you can say I can change something. This is the message I want to start and what I told to the players.

"Everyone speaking, everyone has opinions and the life is always how you see it. The bottle is always half empty or half full. Here there is nothing full, there is a lot of empty things but difficult moments don't last forever.

Igor Tudor is under immense pressure at Tottenham

"It will pass and I believe the players who will take this as a challenge, as an opportunity will stand up with the courage to change things, after this period they will become better people and better players.

"So, in tough moments it's always about that, it's always about us. In the last period, a lot of things about what is the club, the problems, no-one can do nothing and this like victim-ism, like we were victims.

"I said this morning to the players totally opposition things. We are the team and we are the staff.

"It's all about us. All the bull----, all the other things are bull---- and sorry to use this word, but it's on us."