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Liverpool v Tottenham: EFL Cup tie is the battle of the running men

Erik Lamela (L) vies for possession with James Milner

Liverpool and Tottenham go head to head live on Sky Sports 1 HD in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night.

It's their second meeting this season following a frantic 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane in August, and it promises to be another all-action encounter.

Live EFL Cup

Only one point separates the two sides in the Premier League table, and Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino's high-intensity playing styles have proved effective this season.

The two sides press their opponents high up the pitch in order to win back possession in dangerous positions, and Premier League tracking data highlights their work-rate.

Most distance covered - Premier League 2016/17

Rank Team Distance covered (km)
1st Liverpool 1045.1
2nd Man City 1035.9
3rd Tottenham 1024.6
4th Burnley 1020.6
5th West Brom 1015.5
- - -
16th Stoke 961.0
17th Everton 959.5
18th Sunderland 959.0
19th Crystal Palace 950.4
20th Man Utd 945.8

Liverpool have covered more ground than any other Premier League side this season, clocking up 1,045.1km, and Spurs are not far behind on 1,024.6km, putting them third after Manchester City.

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It's the same story for high-intensity sprints, with Klopp's men ranking top in the Premier League with 5,299 and Spurs sitting third on 4,802.

Most sprints - Premier League 2016/17

Rank Team Sprints
1st Liverpool 5299
2nd Man City 5205
3rd Tottenham 4802
4th Arsenal 4787
5th Chelsea 4659
- - -
16th Sunderland 4374
17th West Brom 4200
18th Watford 4157
19th West Ham 4147
20th Hull 4124

So which players get through the most work? It's no surprise to see a Liverpool player at the top of the list for distance covered. Jordan Henderson has played 794 out of 810 minutes this season, clocking up an unrivaled mileage of 106.5km.

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Former Southampton midfielder Victor Wanyama has covered the most distance for Tottenham, running 98.2km in 775 minutes since making his debut in August.

Most distance covered by players - Premier League 2016/17

Rank Player Team Distance covered (km)
1st Jordan Henderson Liverpool 106.5
2nd N'Golo Kante Chelsea 104.9
3rd Nemanja Matic Chelsea 104.1
4th Craig Dawson West Brom 102.0
5th Sam Clucas Hull 100.7
6th Fernandinho Man City 100.5
7th Danny Drinkwater Leicester 99.7
8th Dean Marney Burnley 99.6
9th Hector Bellerin Arsenal 99.5
10th Gareth Barry Everton 99.2
11th Valon Behrami Watford 98.2
12th Victor Wanyama Tottenham 98.2

Another Liverpool player tops the rankings for sprints. Klopp praised Roberto Firmino's work-rate in his recent appearance on Monday Night Football, and the Brazilian has already racked up 607 sprints this season.

Sturridge not fitting in
Sturridge not fitting in

The stats show Daniel Sturridge isn't doing enough for Jurgen Klopp.

Sadio Mane and Nathaniel Clyne also rank highly, with Dele Alli and Kyle Walker the top sprinters for Tottenham. Liverpool's Adam Lallana also makes the Premier League top 20.

Most sprints by players - Premier League 2016/17

Rank Player Team Sprints
1st Roberto Firmino Liverpool 607
2nd George Boyd Burnley 603
3rd Raheem Sterling Man City 591
4th Theo Walcott Arsenal 576
5th Sadio Mane Liverpool 571
6th Nathaniel Clyne Liverpool 570
7th Diego Costa Chelsea 565
8th Eden Hazard Chelsea 560
9th Nathan Redmond Southampton 557
10th Dele Alli Tottenham 553

Klopp and Pochettino are expected to rotate their sides for the EFL Cup, but their hard-running, high-pressing styles won't change. On Tuesday night at Anfield, however, only one of them will go the distance.

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