Liverpool vs Spurs

Competition: EFL Cup Semi final 2nd leg

Date: 6th Jan 2025

Venue: Anfield

Kickoff: 20:00 (GMT)

TV: Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur - Stream and TV Schedule

Match Preview

Almost a month has passed since Lucas Bergvall fired home a late winner for Spurs in the first leg of this semi-final showdown, which was ultimately mired in controversy.

Just minutes before netting that all-important goal, Bergvall was fortunate not to receive a second yellow card for a late lunge on Kostas Tsimikas, but Liverpool and their manager Arne Slot would also have admitted that they were well below par all evening in North London.

Very few will look past Liverpool turning this tie on its head in the return leg this week though, and extend their record number of final appearances in this competition to 15.

Jurgen Klopp's final honour at Liverpool was the EFL Cup last season, notching Liverpool's 10th win in the competition, and the bookmakers still make them favourites to retain their crown, despite trailing from the first leg, and Newcastle United having one foot in the final from the other semi.

A win of two goals is required here, and since losing to Nottingham Forest back in September, Liverpool are unbeaten in 15 at home, scoring at least twice on each occasion, and winning 13.

It was on the road where the Reds sealed a crucial victory in their hunt for a second league title in 35 years though, winning 2-0 at in-form Bournemouth, who caused Slot's side numerous problems throughout the afternoon.

A double from the ever-reliable Mohamed Salah secured the victory though, and kept Liverpool six points clear at the top of the Premier League, just a few days after they finished on top of the inaugural league phase in the Champions League.

The next three fixtures for Liverpool will be vital in keeping their hopes alive of completing an unprecedented quadruple, with a trip to Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup coming up at the weekend after this one, before they go to Goodison Park for the rearranged Merseyside derby against Everton.

For Tottenham, they may not get a better chance to end their long wait for a trophy than this one for quite some time.

Leading heading into the second leg, with the potential of facing Newcastle in the final, as opposed to the formidable Manchester City they lost to in the 2021 final, means manager Ange Postecoglou could well stick to his promise of winning a trophy by his second season at the club.

However, the last two times Spurs have played a two-legged EFL Cup semi-final, both were against Chelsea, and ended in defeat, including in 2019 when they led 1-0 heading into the second leg away from home.

Anfield has brought Spurs very little joy in recent years either, with no win at this venue since 2011, and just three draws in 14 since then, but that would be enough to see them through to a fourth final since they won the competition in 2008.

It has been a very good week for Postecoglou though, beating Brentford 2-0 in the league to move up from 16th to 14th, just a few days after sealing their place in the last 16 of the Europa League with a routine win over Elfsborg, with three youngsters getting on the scoresheet.

Another shutout at the weekend now means Spurs have kept four clean sheets in eight games, despite all of the criticism around Postecoglou's tactics and the injury crisis they are facing.

Two of those did come against Elfsborg and Tamworth, and while they looked hopeless defensively against Everton and Leicester City recently, keeping two of English football's strongest attacks out in the form of Liverpool and Brentford cannot be discredited.

Team News

After being forced off with a thigh injury at Bournemouth on Saturday, Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold is more than likely going to miss this one, but initial fears were alleviated following a scan which revealed the issue is not as bad as first thought.

Recent returns for both Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones mean Joe Gomez is the only other injury absentee for the hosts at present, with Liverpool set to be close to full-strength here.

The other places up for grabs are at left back where Andy Robertson and Tsimikas will compete for a start, and in midfield between Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai to partner Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch.

While players continue to return and make huge strides in recoveries, Spurs have been hit with another huge blow after Radu Dragusin was ruled out for the season with the knee injury he sustained against Elfsborg last week and VDV is not fully up to full fitness and will miss this game.

Postecoglou has revealed he is confident Destiny Udogie, Guglielmo Vicario, Brennan Johnson, Wilson Odobert and Timo Werner will all return in the next week or so, but for Cristian Romero, and Dominic Solanke, their comebacks are a little further down the line.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Salah, Diaz, Gakpo

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Kinsky; Pedro Porro,, Gray, Davies, Spence, Bergvall, Bissouma, Bentancur; Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son

Key lines from Ange's news conference

• Postecoglou confirmed new signings Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel are both available. However, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero will miss the tie as they need to be "conservative" with both players.
• He added that it is "disappointing" to lose Radu Dragusin for the remainder of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury so they do not want to take "risks".
• Despite defensive unavailability, the Spurs boss said he is "not sure" if Danso will start the match as they have another game three days later. He said the players currently filling in at the back are "handling it well" but Danso is "ready" to come in for however many minutes he plays.
• On what he said in his phone call with Tel to persuade him to join: "It's a simplistic way to look at it. People need to understand that you are talking about a 19-year-old player who has a major decision in his career. It's not that he rejected us or anyone - he was getting as much information as possible. I think he just wanted to be comfortable with his decision."
• He added: "I had a conversation with him purely around football. I think he will find a good place here for his career. He will get an opportunity here - the way we play will suit him. What we have in the next few months and, more importantly, beyond, I thought he would be perfect for that next step."
• Postecoglou said that Tel taking his time to decide made him "100%" confident they were getting the "right mentality and right player" who is "very ambitious".
• The Spurs boss did not hold "frustration" about the late nature of signings and said he did not feel they were simply "reactive" buys as a result of their injury situation: "We wouldn't be signing 19 and 20-year-olds reactively. If it was reactive, I would be signing 35 year olds. The nature of the players we have signed shows they are not just about now, they are about us continuing to build."
• Liverpool will not be "any less anxious" for the game than Tottenham as it is a "big occasion for everyone" and these are the games you want to play in otherwise "you would be at home on the couch watching instead".
• On if he will tweak his philosophy for this match: "It depends what you think our philosophy is. My philosophy is to try and win games of football. If people haven't understood my philosophy after 26 years of management, I don't think anything I say now will change that."

COYS