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• Uruguayan will lift Anfield club, says Kevin Bond
• Spurs can get a result, says assistant manager

Kevin Bond believes that Luis Suárez’s probable return for Liverpool against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Monday night will make it harder for Harry Redknapp’s side. Spurs are third and know that beating Liverpool will keep their championship hopes alive.

Suárez has been serving an eight-match ban for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra earlier in the season and Bond, the assistant manager, said of his likely return to action: “The introduction of Suárez on a night match at Anfield – they’re going to be a real tough nut. It will give them a lift – as if they need a lift. You can imagine it, the crowd will be rooting for him hugely. They are flying – so you never know, he might not get in the side.

“He’s a good player. He’s a fantastic player and has been a fantastic signing for Liverpool. You’d have expected them to really sorely miss him. Maybe a couple of results have gone against them in his absence but they’ve just had three big wins without him and now they’ve got him as well.”

Spurs beat Liverpool 2-0 in the corresponding fixture last season and Bond said the side can take heart for this: “It was a real big performance up there last year. I’m sure the lads will reflect on that and think if we go about our job we can go to Anfield and get a result. We definitely need to get something there. Last year’s win will give us a bit of a lift. Players have favourite grounds, strikers have certain teams they think they always do well against. We focus on that factor to help them.”

Regarding Tottenham’s title hopes Bond said: “When we were eight points adrift [before midweek games] that wasn’t bang in the title race but now it’s five and we’re nearer. A lot of things will change. Next week it might be two points or you might have a blip and you’re back to eight and effectively out of it. It’s an ever-changing situation and I see it like that for the rest of the season. We’re only a couple of results away from the teams above us, which is terrific.”

Manchester City, the leaders, dropped three points when Everton beat them 1-0 last Tuesday and Bond said: “If his opinion was it was a two-horse race, now his opinion is different. It’s exactly what I mean. One minute we’re 20-1 and the next we’re 10-1 on the back of one result.

“I don’t see City collapsing. It’s a disappointing result but it’s never easy playing away to Everton. They had a great result against us [3-2 at the Etihad last month]. Come the back end of the season experience will count for a lot, which means [Manchester] United have the edge on everybody. They’ve been in tight title races come March and April before. Most of the time they come out on top. They’ve been there and done it and that’s in their favour. United will relish that close finish. We’ve not been in this situation before and they seem to thrive on it.”

Regarding Emmanuel Adebayor, who has scored nine goals but none since 22

• Kenny Dalglish may not start striker against Spurs
• ‘It’s not automatic [he] will come straight into the team’

Kenny Dalglish says Luis Suárez is keen to play against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night following his eight-match suspension for racially abusing Patrice Evra but the manager is not sure whether to throw him in at the deep end.

The Liverpool manager said of Suárez, who has not played since the 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day: “He’ll want to play, won’t he? There is a lot to be taken into consideration – the way the other boys have played without him and the fact he has not played for a month.

“After five or six weeks out, it’s not automatic someone will come straight back into the team. It depends on the individual, it depends on our needs; not just who we have available but who we are playing against.”

Suárez has always been good at beginnings; almost exactly a year ago he scored at Anfield 16 minutes into his Liverpool debut. It was his first domestic club game since a seven-match suspension for biting PSV

• Liverpool’s £35m striker has not been allowed to flourish
• Carroll plays key role in FA Cup win over Manchester United

Andy Carroll for Carlos Tevez? It would make sense for Liverpool to go for a striker that better suits their style, albeit with a probable desire to want to leave after two years, and for Manchester City to reject what even now amounts to an unfavourable exchange. As was made plain on Saturday, however, a £35m problem is not solely of Carroll’s making.

There were just seconds remaining in the first half at Anfield when José Reina collected the ball and looked to release a quick attack against Manchester United. Unfortunately nine red shirts were gathered in proximity. Up on the halfway line stood Carroll, trying on his lonesome to escape United’s central defenders and an unforgiving spotlight. He ultimately made the right step on both counts.

Judgment comes quickly for the most expensive British footballer in history and a ridiculous price tag is the barometer by which the 22-year-old’s every touch will be judged, fairly or not. Carroll never set the fee, nor can he avoid it, and there have been plenty of times when Kenny Dalglish’s decision-making has been called into question since he moved for the Newcastle United centre-forward while Fernando Torres was heading for the exit last January. A week before Liverpool’s victory over United in the FA