With pressure mounting and rumours of internal disquiet gathering pace David Moyes and Manchester United go into today’s game with Aston Villa desperately in need of a win. It’s now over a month, and 4 games, since the last league win for United and with consecutive defeats to Everton and Newcastle hanging over them there will be a significant step up in pressure to produce a result than would usually be expected from a Sunday afternoon trip to Villa Park.
The game kicks off at 1.30 and we have live commentary from Alan Irwin and Stephen Hunt.

Liverpool’s season looked set for derailment after a weak 3-1 defeat to Hull City but 9 goals in their past two league games – a 5-1 win over Norwich and a 4-1 victory against West Ham – appear to have righted the ship and kept Liverpool on the course they had charted with their excellent early league form.

Going to a ground where they have lost the last six fixtures in all competitions makes this fixture a daunting one at any time but in the wider context of this season this afternoon’s visit to Tottenham presents a very real test of where this side is, and how well it can cope with injury absences.

With Daniel Sturridge and Stephen Gerard both set to miss the festive season’s hectic schedule the results over the next few weeks will tell us a lot about the true level of this team. Today’s game at White Hart Lane is the first of a schedule that includes trips to Stamford Bridge and the Etihad Stadium and a win here, aside from sending Liverpool second and within 2 points of Arsenal, will set them up for the challenges ahead. A defeat would be the perfect starting point for the plague of all title pretenders - the Christmas collapse.

You can listen to all of the action from White Hart Lane, live from 4.00 on Off the Ball with Kenny Cunningham and Dave McIntyre in the commentary box.

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