Liverpool will feel the weight of increased expectation to deliver silverware this season after making encouraging forays into the transfer market, manager Juergen Klopp said.
Jamie Vardy pounced just before halftime to earn Leicester City a 1-0 over West Brom at The Hawthorns on Saturday, to take them closer to Premier League survival.
Images from Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Liverpool face Spurs in the game of the weekend, a day after title rivals Manchester City travel to struggling Fulham.
The result shook up League A Group 4, giving Ukraine an outside chance of finishing top of the group with two games remaining.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Liverpool's bandwagon rolled on as they crushed Merseyside rivals Everton 5-2
Brazil have shown all the signs they can rule the world yet again in Russia but they must make their excellent preparations count in their World Cup Group E opener against a resilient Switzerland side on Sunday in Rostov.
Jamie Vardy's record scoring streak ended but LeicesterCity's improbable Premier League title challenge continued with Riyad Mahrez's hat-trick sealing a 3-0 win at SwanseaCity that put them top on Saturday.
Veterans Arjen Robben (21) and Wesley Sneijder (34) laid the groundwork for a Dutch victory in coach Dick Advocaat's first game in charge.
Winter returned to Anfield on Friday but while the temperature dropped, the standards of Juergen Klopp's side certainly did not as Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah both struck twice in a 5-0 thrashing of relegated Huddersfield Town.
Images from the EPL matches played on Sunday
Switzerland are unlikely to face the same hostility when they face already-eliminated Costa Rica in Group E of the World Cup on Wednesday.
The visitors went ahead through Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting but Pascal Gross equalised just before the break only for Kurt Zouma to head Stoke back in front moments later. Jose Izquierdo then levelled for Brighton on the hour to earn a deserved point.
Portugal had to settle for a 0-0 draw at home to Spain in a heavyweight friendly on Wednesday after hammering the crossbar twice and missing a last-gasp open goal.
Liverpool's defence of a Premier League crown won at a canter last season has become a nightmare
Tottenham Hotspur routed Bournemouth 5-0 as they leapfrogged City into second place in the league, six points behind leaders Liverpool who thrashed Newcastle United 4-0.
Arsenal moved top of the Premier League table but were unconvincing in a 0-0 home draw with Middlesbrough who were well worth their point on Saturday.
Inter, Liverpool sweating on last-16 spots
The following are talking points from the weekend's Premier League action:
Borussia Dortmund steam-rollered hapless Freiburg 5-0 while Bayern Munich plodded past VfL Wolfsburg 1-0 as the two unbeaten arch-rivals remained level on points at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Stoke thought they had secured all three points and their first away win since October when substitute Peter Crouch knocked a loose ball into the back of the net after West Ham's England goalkeeper Joe Hart spilled a shot after 79 minutes.
If City win their next league game at Everton on March 31 that will set up a Manchester derby at City's Etihad Stadium where a win over their arch-rivals would secure the title.
Premier League title race looks poised to be one of the most thrilling in years.
A round-up of results from the Nations League matches played on Sunday
Brazil need solutions after coming unstuck against Swiss
Philippe Coutinho scored a spectacular first-half goal for Brazil in their World Cup Group E opener on Sunday, only for Steven Zuber to cancel it out after the break.
As we prepare to cruise into the New Year, Rediff.com gives you a glance back, through photos, into all the sporting moments that made the last 12 months memorable.
'I think it's a 50-50 match. My players know that. They (Poland) are here on their own merit' 'There will be a strong strategic component to this game, because if you concede four goals nobody can ensure you can score five'
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Swansea City's hopes of salvaging their place in the Premier League suffered a potentially grievous blow as Ryan Fraser's deflected strike earned Bournemouth a 1-0 win on Saturday to secure another season of top-flight football for the Cherries.
Tottenham Hotspur climbed to third with a 3-1 win over Southampton while Chelsea hung on to fourth spot, above Arsenal on goal difference, despite a 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Switzerland may get a taste of their own medicine on Saturday when they meet an Albania side featuring several players who benefited from the highly-acclaimed Swiss youth set-up. Loyalties will be divided in a fascinating Group A clash which, for the first time in the European Championship, will have brothers on opposing sides in Granit and Taulant Xhaka. Both are of Albanian heritage and were born in Basel but Granit will line up for Switzerland and older brother Taulant, provided he recovers from a thigh injury, for their opponents. In all, nine members of Albania's 23-man squad had the right to play for Switzerland, and six members of the Swiss squad could have opted for Albania.
Tottenham Hotspur claimed a first victory at Chelsea for 28 years with Dele Alli scoring twice in the second half as they came back to win 3-1 and cement fourth place in the Premier League on Sunday.
'It was a crazy game where we had the bit of luck that we didn't have in Slovenia'
An early goal by defender Fabian Schaer earned Switzerland a 1-0 victory over debutants Albania whose captain was sent off before halftime in the Euro 2016 Group A match on Saturday. Switzerland, bidding to reach the knockout stages for the first time, scored in the fifth minute and were given a further boost by a second yellow card for Albania skipper Lorik Cana.
Images from the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match played between Switzerland and Sweden in St Petersburg on Tuesday
Be ready to be amazed as Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this super photo feature.
Leicester City's Premier League title defence got off to a terrible start as they were beaten 2-1 at promoted Hull City, who shrugged off an injury crisis to shock the champions on the opening day of the new season on Saturday
In a gripping title race, Liverpool showed they are ready to push Manchester City right until the final seconds of this season with their spirited 3-2 win at Newcastle United.
