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After Newcastle took a 2–0 aggregate lead over Arsenal in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals, Tottenham and Liverpool meet to kick off the other match. It’s a chance to put an end to one major trophy drought for Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham sidebut after a 6-3 defeat to Liverpool in their last meeting at home there will be concerns about how things will go.
The Spurs are one of the most interesting teams in the league. They also score and concede goals with ease, so facing an in-form team like Liverpool will be a scary proposition. All the pressure may be on the Reds, who are expected to march to the Premier League title, but Tottenham have not won a trophy since triumphing in the competition in 2008, so there is extra motivation to emerge with a win.
Here are our storylines, how to watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday January 8 | Time: 3:00 PM ET
- Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – London
- Live stream: Biggest+
- Chances: Tottenham +320; Sign +360; Liverpool-155
Storylines
Tottenham: Lineups will be interesting for Tottenham as a debut could be in the works. New goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky Jr. has only been at the club for a few days, but the former Slavia Prague player is registered to play and with Fraser Forester recovering from illness, he could make his debut for the club at an important time. It will be quite a challenge when the 21-year-old makes his debut, but after being thrown into the fire in the Czech league, he will be ready for whatever comes his way. Richarlison is also back in training, adding more depth to a frontline that has been stretched to its limits of late. The defense is still in shambles, with the top three centre-backs all offside, but there is little chance we can keep this close at home.
Tottenham predicted XI: Antonin Kinsky, Djed Spence, Radu Dragusin, Archie Gray, Pedro Porro, Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall, Heung-min Son, Dejan Kulusevski, Brennan Johnson, Dominic Solanke
Liverpool: Ibrahima Konate is back in contention to help Arne Slot return to his best available defense and the timing couldn’t be better with Joe Gomez out with a thigh injury. Dominik Szoboszlai is the only other player who will be unavailable, although there could be changes to Liverpool’s starting XI after dropping points against Macher United last time out.
Liverpool predicted XI: Alisson, Andrew Robertson, Virgil Van Djik, Ibrahima Konate, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota
Prediction
Despite Tottenham’s defensive problems, there aren’t many teams that can stop them from scoring, especially on their own pitch. The only upside from the current injury crisis is that less experienced players are finding their feet, which will help secure an unlikely draw. Choose: Tottenham 2, Liverpool 2
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