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The return of Luis Suarez was the focal point of an otherwise drab encounter between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur on a chilly night at Anfield. Harry Redknapp couldn't make it to the game after his flight was cancelled following yet another day in court for the manager. The first-half was conspicuously short of goal-mouth action as the two midfields cancelled each other out. The only time either keeper was called into action was from long range shots.

The game failed to light up even after the restart as opportunities continued to be at a premium. Suarez's introduction midway through the half gave Liverpool the momentum but it was in fact Spurs who missed the biggest chance of the night as Gareth Bale failed get the ball past Pepe Reina from a one-on-one situation. The game finished 0-0, with Tottenham the happier camp as they left Anfield with a share of the spoils.

Luis Suarez returned from his 8-match ban to take a place on the bench as Andy Carroll led the line, with support from Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt. A three-man central midfield saw Jay Spearing sit the deepest while Steven Gerrard and Charlie Adam provided the attacking impetus. At the back, Glen Johnson was moved to left-back while Martin Kelly started on the right, with Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger completing the back four.

Tottenham lined-up in a 4-2-3-1 formation as Emmanuel Adebayor continued as the lone striker. Luka Modric led the attacking trio from midfield, with Niko Kranjcar and Gareth Bale starting in the wide positions. Scott Parker and Jake Livermore shielded the back four which comprised of Kyle Walker, Ledley King, Michael Dawson and Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

The home side had a very early shout for a penalty after Dawson slid in to stop Carroll from getting on the end of Gerrard's pass. But as the replays confirmed, the defender got the ball first as the referee correctly waved away calls for a spot kick from the Kop. Liverpool were the ones playing cute one-twos in their build up, but it was nothing Spurs couldn't contain. At the other end, Tottenham struggled to put together a move as the home side always had enough bodies behind the ball.

Bale was being kept quiet by Kuyt and Kelly and it was in fact Kranjcar on the other side who registered their first shot on goal as he stung Pepe Reina's fingertips with a strike from outside the box. At the half hour mark, Spearing's rising shot that went wide of the post was the closest Liverpool came to breaking the deadlock.

Brad Friedel did have saves to make before the end of the half as he twice had to react to deny Johnson. The first was from an awkward cross that almost sneaked into the far corner before he had to get down to push away a strike from the left. Bale had moved to a more central position as the half progressed and he did manage to get on the end Walker's cross, but it was too high for him to improvise a strong strike towards goal. It was 0-0 at half-time as both midfields cancelled each other, with the defences clearly coming out on top.

The 2nd half was no different as both sides failed to get any quality into the final phase of play. A lot of passing in non-threatening areas aside, Bale shot wide from a good position inside the box after being fed by Walker once again while Kelly forced Friedel into a diving save to keep out his shot from distance. Then the moment the whole of Liverpool was waiting for materialized as Suarez came on for Kuyt with a quarter of the game left. The arrival of Suarez did inject some pace into Liverpool's attack as Spurs gradually went deeper and deeper.

But it was in fact Carroll who had a great chance to break the deadlock on 74 minutes as he collected Kelly's cross from the right and even though he had time and space to pick his spot, the striker placed his shot horribly high. Spurs had replaced Adebayor with Louis Saha by that point as they tried to get a foothold in the game. Liverpool were knocking on the door as Spurs were hurried into a few clearances.

But the clearest goal-scoring opportunity of the game fell to Bale five minutes from time as the Welsh winger beat the offside trap to collect a through-ball before bearing down on goal. With Bale in a one-on-one situation a goal seemed certain, but Reina stood tall to block his strike as Anfield breathed a sigh of relief. A few moments later, Suarez got into a great position a few yards from goal as Gerrard found him with an inch perfect cross. But Freidel was up to the mark as he caught the header comfortably.

It was Liverpool's 8th home draw of the season and they are now four points off Chelsea in 4th place in the fight for a Champions League spot. Liverpool didn't trouble Tottenham a great deal with their starting attack-force of Carroll, Kuyt and Bellamy. Even Spurs failed to make runs behind Liverpool and Adebayor failed to drag the centre-backs out of position while Bale had on off-night. The game was crying out for a moment of brilliance or at least a defensive lapse to break open the gates, but it never arrived as the teams shared the spoils.

While Liverpool sit in 7th place, Tottenham continue in 3rd position with 50 points on the board.

Teams:

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Kelly, Agger, Skrtel, Spearing, Kuyt (Suarez 66'), Gerrard, Adam, Carroll, Bellamy (Downing 73').

Tottenham: Friedel; Walker, Dawson, King, Assou-Ekotto; Livermore,Parker; Kranjcar (Rose 87'), Modric, Bale; Adebayor (Saha 72').

Final Score: Liverpool 0-0 Tottenham

File Photograph Copyright: Danny Molyneux