When these two met in September, Tottenham extinguished Liverpool's early-season optimism by sauntering to a 4-0 win with a brutally dominant display at White Hart Lane.

It took Spurs just 90 minutes to expose any hopes the visitors had of mounting a title challenge as being hopelessly misplaced. At the same time, Harry Redknapp's side offered fresh evidence that they could be real contenders.

Events have conspired to set up a similar back story as the two teams prepare to meet at Anfield.

After a humbling defeat at Bolton a fortnight ago, Liverpool have shown signs of improvement. Having disposed of the two Manchester clubs in the cups, they powered to a convincing win in the league at Molineux. Those results, along with the return of Luis Suarez from suspension, will naturally raise hopes among the Reds faithful once more. A Champions League place is their central aim.

But that optimism will again be tested by a Spurs side whose ambitions have blossomed into the firm reality that, while still outsiders for the title, they are the only genuine challengers beyond Manchester. Victory at Anfield would embolden Tottenham even further, while dragging Liverpool back towards square one again.

Head-to-head



• Wigan stunned Spurs by winning 1-0 at White Hart Lane last season.



• It was only the Latics' second win over Tottenham in their history and came less than a year after they were on the end of a 9-1 thrashing at White Hart Lane.



• Wigan have scored just 12 goals in the 13 league meetings between the sides.



• Against Manchester City, Ledley King conceded Tottenham's first penalty of the season - Wigan have conceded eight, four of which have been missed



Tottenham



• Jermain Defoe has scored a league goal every 113 minutes of playing time this season, compared with one goal per 189 minutes by Emmanuel Adebayor.



• Rafael van der Vaart has scored just once in his last 12 games.



• Three of Tottenham's four defeats in the league this season have come against north-west teams.



Wigan



• Victor Moses has been fouled 55 times this season, more than any other player in the top flight.



• Gary Caldwell has given away more than twice as many penalties (seven) as any other Premier League player since January 2010.



• Wigan have scored (42%) of their goals from outside the penalty area, the highest percentage in the top division.



• The Latics have scored only 19 goals from 297 shots this season, a rate of one goal per 15.6 shots.