Tottenham will be hoping that the Carabao Cup will be their silver lining in what has so far been a season tainted by underwhelming performances, far below the expectations of fans.
The hosts have had an eventful January so far: announcing the signing of Antonin Kinsky to rectify their sparse goalkeeping options; welcoming summer signing Yang Min-hyeok to the first team and most significantly, announcing the one-year extension of captain Son Heung-Min’s contract.
Ange Postecoglou’s side will be hopeful that these changes will spark the rejuvenation of their disappointing campaign. But they face a red-hot Liverpool side, who have displayed outstanding form under Arne Slot, making them favourites for all three competitions they are currently taking part in.
When Slot took over in the Summer, many believed that Liverpool would see a decline in standard after nine successful years under Jurgen Klopp. But the Dutchman has emphatically disproved his doubters, winning 23 out of his 28 games in charge.
The prospect of making it to the Carabao Cup final will be a challenge that the Liverpool squad will relish, having triumphed in 2022 and 2024. Victory against Spurs will put them in a great position to extend their record amount of League Cup titles to 11.
Will lack of squad depth haunt Tottenham again?
When the teams met three days before Christmas, Liverpool were relentless with their high press, which was far too much for the make shift, inexperienced Tottenham defence to cope with. Unfortunately for the Lilywhites, the number of defensive absentees has only increased since then, with the club announcing that Destiny Udogie is expected to be out for six to ten weeks.
This adds to the injury list that also includes first choice centre-backs Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies.
Tottenham were also struck with a plague of viruses last week, that heavily affected their squad during Saturday's match against Newcastle, which included their only fit centre back Radu Dragusin, who had to be removed at half time.
Also affected, was 18 year-old Archie Gray, who has been filling in in central defence, due to Tottenham's severe lack of options. “Radu and Archie literally got off sickbeds to play today, and Radu was shattered at half-time,” said the Tottenham manager.
Can Tottenham's dreadful home form finally come to an end?
Tottenham have not won at home in their last six attempts, losing four - a run which dates back to the 3rd November. This has seen pressure increase on Postecoglou who will be desperate for that run to end on Wednesday, in what could be a huge step forward in the club's bid to end their 17 year trophy drought.
However, doing this against the 10 time League Cup champions will be an enormous task, especially considering Tottenham's poor record against Liverpool, having beating them just twice in their last 26 attempts.
Will speculation around Liverpool players benefit Tottenham?
Despite the positivity surrounding the club at the moment, the past week has been slightly overshadowed by the rumours surroundings the futures of: Virgil Van Dijk, Mohammed Salah and Trent Alexander Arnold. The latter of whom was was substituted following his poor individual display against Manchester United, in the surprising 2-2 draw.
All three players have gained great experience in winning trophies and have all been monumental to the club's success since the 2017/18 campaign. Now, each of them are in the final year of their respective contracts and as we edge closer to that day, more and more media speculation surrounding the topic has become apparent.
In recent history, speculation over the future of players has proved to impact a team's form. Although it seems very unlikely that this will be the case for Liverpool, perhaps the lacklustre and chaotic performance on Sunday was a crack beginning to show.