'Accomplishment against us' - Liverpool boss Arne Slot verdict on Tottenham ahead of Carabao Cup semi-final

Tottenham turn their attention away from the Premier League this weekend, as they welcome Liverpool for a Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday. Spurs are searching for their first trophy since 2008, when they won the League Cup under manager Juande Ramos. However, they will have to overcome the Premier League leaders and defending League Cup champions over two legs to reach the final.

Ange Postecoglou has come under fire in recent weeks amid a poor run of form for his side. Spurs lost 2-1 to Newcastle in their last game, leaving them 12th in the league table, 12 points away from the Champions League places. Liverpool meanwhile, haven’t lost a game in all competitions since mid-September when they faced a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest. Despite Spurs’ recent poor form, Liverpool boss Arne Slot said he was impressed with them the last time the two teams met, which was a 6-3 win for the Reds before Christmas.

He said in his pre-match press conference: “We expect two teams that have a clear identity and playing style, both teams trying to force that identity towards the other. In large parts of the away game two weeks ago, we could show our identity, but there were definitely also parts in the game where they showed how good of a team they are. Scoring three goals against us is also an accomplishment, I know we scored six in that game as well, but scoring three against us, not many teams have done until now.”

Tottenham are in fact only one of two teams to have scored three goals against Liverpool under Slot, since he joined in the summer, which could provide a level of optimism for Postecoglou. Spurs are the second-highest scoring team in the Premier League, behind the Reds, so putting the ball in the net has not been an issue for Postecoglou’s side this year. However, they have conceded the eight-most goals this year.

Tottenham’s injury worries

One of the key reasons for Spurs’ defensive struggles this season has been due to several injuries along their back line. First-choice centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero both remain out injured, and both of them are expected to return at the end of January, meaning they will likely miss games against Liverpool and Arsenal amongst others.

Furthermore, Ben Davies is also injured with a hamstring injury that puts him on a similar timeline to both Van de Ven and Romero. Full-back Destiny Udogie has been ruled out too with a hamstring issue. He is expected to miss around six weeks.

Slot reveals Liverpool team news ahead of Tottenham trip

The Liverpool boss was very optimistic regarding his side’s injury concerns, as he admitted that they virtually have a fully fit squad, in a huge contract to Postecoglou’s Spurs squad. He said: “Almost all of them are fit, that is quite special at this part of the season as well.”

Defender Joe Gomez is the only Liverpool player to be ruled out of Wednesday night’s match due to a hamstring injury. It is expected to keep him on the sidelines until February. Meanwhile, midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai is a doubt for the trip to Spurs as he has been recovering from an illness which forced him to miss Liverpool’s 2-2 draw against Manchester United in their last game.