It was at Sunderland a month ago that Jurgen Klopp lost his cool and Liverpool lost the plot at the outset of a ruinous January. Mauricio Pochettino can only hope that a draw against lowly Sunderland does not have the same destabilising effect as Spurs embark on a run of seven matches in 27 days.
The Reds drew 2-2 here on January 2 despite having twice led and, afterwards, a prickly Klopp picked arguments with reporters.
Much like Spurs on Tuesday night, his side had dominated only to drop two points against a team almost certainly headed for the Championship.