RAMOS EXPECTS RAFA TO REVIVE REDS

Ramos - backing Benitez.

Tottenham head coach Juande Ramos is confident Rafael Benitez will be in a position at Liverpool to lead a Barclays Premier League title challenge at Anfield next season.

The two Spaniards, friends from their time in La Liga, face each other on Sunday but there is little at stake at White Hart Lane, with both teams now looking towards August.

"I'm sure Liverpool, with its philosophy, will be able to come out of this," Ramos said.

"There are always things that crop up that get in the way of the normal running of a club but I think Rafa is very happy there."

Benitez appeared undermined earlier in the season when Jurgen Klinsmann was approached by Liverpool officials. Ironically, Ramos famously had a secret meeting with Spurs at the start of the campaign, putting Martin Jol under intense pressure as manager.

Spurs eventually got their man and the Carling Cup followed within four months, leading to hopes of breaking into the top four next season.

Ramos, however, acknowledges how difficult it will be and sympathises with Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan for his comments over the Premier League becoming predictable.

"As far as what Keegan said, he's telling the truth to a certain extent because it is always the same teams at the top in the end," he said.

"He is a man who knows a lot about English football and will have his reasons for saying that.

"In Spain you have two teams that are constantly in the top four - Barcelona and Real Madrid - and then the other two places are much more open.

"You get teams such as Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal and Celta Vigo."

Ramos still feels the Premier League has an edge on the domestic game in Italy and Spain at the moment, adding: "These things go in cycles.

"Right now I think that the Premier League is above all the others, and so you are getting more quality players coming to England."

Spurs have Dimitar Berbatov back in the squad against Liverpool after a groin injury but Paul Robinson has aggravated an ankle problem and Aaron Lennon is a doubt with a knee complaint.

The Spanish connections for the clash at White Hart Lane do not end at the managers, with Fernando Torres expected to lead the attack for the visitors.

Marking the Premier League rookie - who has scored 32 times since arriving from Atletico Madrid - will be former Real Madrid defender Jonathan Woodgate.

"Torres has not been a surprise to me as I already knew him perfectly well," Ramos said.

"If he was good in Spain then I know that he is going to be good in England. If he scores goals in Spain, he will score here.

"There is a difference in Spain and Atletico is a team slightly lower on the rung of the ladder than teams such as Real Madrid and Barca.

"But Liverpool have created a lot of opportunities for him to score. He has many more options for him to score. So it is a different situation. But in Spain he scored 15-20 goals. Here he has scored more than 30."

While it is easy to bill the clash as an opportunity to assess Spurs' top-four potential for next season, Ramos will not rate their chances until they have completed their recruitment.

"We've more or less got the structure of what we want for next season but we can't make public comments about it because we do not want to ruin possible negotiations with other clubs," he said.