Rousing The Kop

Liverpool’s win over Tottenham on Thursday put the Reds in their ninth major cup final since 2015.

The Reds have been transformed over the past decade, with Jurgen Klopp guiding them to victory in four of those finals.

The biggest, of course, was also at the expense of Tottenham. Spurs were the opponents when Liverpool lifted their sixth Champions League title in 2019.

One of the more celebrated players in Mauricio Pochettino’s team that evening in Madrid was forward Son Heung-Min.

Son has been a terrific player for Tottenham since arriving for just £22m in 2015. However, that final six years ago remains the closest he has come to silverware at Spurs.

With another chance at a trophy dashed by at Anfield on Thursday, it was noticeable that several Liverpool players made a point of consoling Son at the final whistle.

Liverpool players make Son Heung-Min feelings clear

Son has become a Tottenham legend over 10 years in North London. But as the sun begins to set on his career as a top level player, it’s clear that he should have won so much more.

Son reportedly wanted to join Liverpool in 2022 and its harder to think of a better fit than the South Korean in the Reds attack.

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Klopp was certainly a fan of Son. The German even admitted that not signing the Spurs man was ‘one of the biggest mistakes’ of his career as a manager.

And judging by the Liverpool player’s reactions to Son on Thursday, they may hold some similar regrets as well.

Son has praised Mohamed Salah plenty of times in the past and the pair do appear to have a connection. Cameras caught the two players sharing a lingering hug at full-time on Thursday.

Virgil van Dijk is another with clear affection for the Korean, a pat on the back and a warm arm around the shoulder showed as much.

Liverpool miss chance with Son

Had Liverpool signed Son when they seemingly had half a chance in 2022, they would still have been getting a player with plenty to offer.

He has scored 41 goals and registered 24 assists in 115 games for Spurs since. Not bad going.

But although Son is still a key man for Ange Postecoglou’s team, Thursday’s game was another indication hat he is no longer the player he once was.

The Korea captain did produce Spurs’ bet moment of the game as he slammed a good effort against the bar late one. But, that aside, he did not threaten at all.

It’s easy to dream of what Son could have been alongside big players like Salah and Van Dijk who clearly rate him enormously. But, unfortunately, it was never meant to be.

Liverpool started well against Tottenham on Thursday, getting themselves the first-half goal they were always going to need.

Having fallen to a 1-0 defeat at Spurs back in January, the Reds needed a fast start to get themselves level.

Inevitably, with Anfield right up for it, Liverpool began the game in quick fashion. However, for the early part, Spurs matched them.

One man who was always going to be up for the fight on Merseyside was former Everton man Richarlison.

The Brazilian has played the pantomime villain many a time during his career in England. And he was at it again during Thursday’s tie.

Richarlison appeared desperate to get into it with Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. And after a couple of clashes between the pair, journalist Lewis Steele spotted Van Dijk getting his own back.

Virgil van Dijk mugs off Richarlison

There was a flashpoint just moments into the game when Van Dijk appeared to catch Richarlison on the chin with an elbow.

Despite the protestations of Ally McCoist on commentary for ITV, it was never going to be a red card for the Liverpool centre-back.

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Nevertheless, that wasn’t going to stop Richarlison trying his best to get Van Dijk into trouble.

But Virgil has been around long enough to know when someone is gaming him. And having seen the referee wave away Richarlison’s claims, the big man made sure to leave one on his opponent at the nearest opportunity.

And having brought the Brazil international down, Steele spotted Van Dijk engaging in some ‘playground’ tactics off the ball.

“Virgil van Dijk just offered a hand to Richarlison to help him up off the floor,” says the journalist on X.

“Richarlison reaches towards it but Van Dijk pulls it away. Not seen that one since the primary school playground.”

Anfield gets last laugh on Richarlison

Not long after Richarlison was mugged off by Van Dijk, his night took another turn. Having barely returned from injury, the 27-year-old sat down and punched the Anfield turf in anger. His evening was over.

Again, Steele noted the reaction as Richarlison headed down the tunnel, and it’s safe to say the Anfield crowd enjoyed his misfortune.

“Liverpool fans laughing at Richarlison who is clearly in some discomfort after pulling up injured,” said the reporter.

“Former Everton man is being replaced by new signing Mathys Tel.”

A bad evening for Richarlison, but that’s what happens when you go against the best.

Liverpool are out for revenge in the Carabao Cup on Thursday as they look to make a second final in succession.

The Reds are going to have to come from behind to get there, though, with Tottenham Hotspur taking a 1-0 first-leg lead to Anfield.

Liverpool had a right to be aggrieved with the way they lost the previous meeting in January. And Arne Slot and his players will have to channel that frustration the right way in-front of an expectant home crowd.

As Slot looks to reach his first final with Liverpool at the very first attempt, here’s the XI we think he’ll task with turning this tie around.

Defence

Who plays in goal for Liverpool is not often a big talking point. If he’s fit, Alisson Becker plays, unless it’s the Carabao Cup, then it’s Caoimhin Kelleher.

Slot has blurred those lines this season, though, and just as he did in January, we think Alisson will start this one.

In-front of the Brazilian, Trent Alexander-Arnold is Liverpool’s only injury worry and will be forced to sit out. Conor Bradley has a big chance to make his mark in Trent’s absence.

At centre-back there is no reason for Slot not to go full strength, meaning Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk, while we’d imagine Andy Robertson will continue at left-back before being switched out for Sunday’s clash with Plymouth Argyle.

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Midfield

After James McConnell’s terrific performance against PSV Eindhoven last week, there’s a chance Slot would be thinking about the 20-year-old if he wants to rotate here.

Curtis Jones made an impact when coming on against Bournemouth as well and may have his eyes on a start.

However, we think Slot will disappoint them both and simply stick with what he knows works here.

The trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai is arguably the best midfield in Europe right now and they’ll play a big part in Liverpool’s attempt to turn this tie on its head.

Attack

During Jurgen Klopp’s time at the club, Liverpool would rarely field their best players in the Carabao Cup until the final.

However, given the need to get goals, the relative strength of Tottenham and the FA Cup tie coming on Sunday, we think that will change on Thursday.

That will mean that Mohamed Salah makes just his 10th League Cup appearance, while Cody Gakpo – who loves this competition dearly – will also play.

For the third and final spot, we think Slot will opt to let Darwin Nunez have a run out against what could be a makeshift Spurs defence.

Injuries look set to play a big impact on Liverpool’s clash with Tottenham in the Carabao Cup on Thursday night.

The two Premier League clubs will go head-to-head for a place at Wembley, with Spurs leading the tie 1-0 from the first leg after Lucas Bergvall netted the only goal of the game.

Liverpool are expected to turn the tie around, given their current run of form and the fact that the match takes place in front of an Anfield crowd.

Liverpool will be without Trent Alexander-Arnold for the game after the right-back left the pitch early with an issue against Bournemouth on Saturday.

Tottenham have been very inconsistent this season and that has been a result of some major injuries at the North London club so Ange Postecoglou knows how Slot is feeling right now.

Micky van de Ven returned to action last week in the Europa League after being out for months with a hamstring injury and the defender is a player Slot wants to know if he will be fit to face his team on Thursday night.

Arne Slot admits Micky van de Ven will be impactful

Van de Ven turned down a move to Liverpool to join Tottenham and has been a key player for Spurs ever since.

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The Dutch talent arrived in North London last summer with the centre-back allowing Postecoglou to play a very high line due to his recovery speed.

However, the 23-year-old seems to be injury-prone and has missed a lot of action over the last two campaigns.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Slot wondered if Van de Ven would be fit for Thursday night’s match as the Liverpool boss admitted that the defender would have a big impact.

“I wonder if Micky van de Ven is ready to play – he, of course, has a big impact on that team,” Slot said. “It might change the quality we face tomorrow compared to the last time but we were already not able to win from the team that played last time. So, it’s going to be a difficult one, which we know.”

Despite not featuring in Tottenham’s win over Brentford at the weekend, Spurs fans were hopeful that Van de Ven would be fit for their trip to Anfield.

Both Slot and Tottenham supporters have got their answers, as Ange Postecoglou has informed the press about the 23-year-old’s availability.

Van de Ven has been a huge miss for Tottenham this season having featured in only 12 games for the North London club before picking up his injury.

Postecoglou has informed the media that Van de Ven will not play against Liverpool on Thursday as the Australian coach takes a cautious approach to his return to full fitness.

‘It’s a bit of everything. He got through the game with no problem but had a look at the stats, Premier League is a whole different beast and after losing Radu, I thought about what we had ahead of us,” the Tottenham boss said via football.london.

‘Don’t get me wrong we have some big games ahead but also afforded ourselves a couple of clear weeks. Hopefully, we’re in the final of the Carabao Cup, hopefully, we’re still in FA Cup and I don’t see the sense of us risking.’

This will be a big boost for Slot as it will allow Liverpool to expose Spurs’ high line with greater effect as the Dutch coach will look to use his front three to create a lot of problems for Postecoglou.

The contest is poised to be a great one under the Anfield lights as both Premier League clubs need to win it for different reasons.

Tottenham have received a big boost ahead of the EFL Cup clash with Liverpool.

The Reds host Ange Postecoglou’s men at Anfield on Thursday night in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final clash with the Merseyside club trailing 1-0 from the first leg.

A Lucas Bergvall goal has left Arne Slot’s men with work to do, and despite Liverpool being without Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Premier League leaders will be viewed as the favourites to advance, given their recent run of form and the unpredictability of Spurs this season.

The January transfer window was a quiet one for the Reds with it being confirmed that Liverpool are the lowest spenders throughout the 2024/25 campaign.

While the Merseyside club had no work to do, the same cannot be said for Tottenham, who needed to address several issues.

The end of the January transfer window was busy for the North London club and ahead of the Liverpool clash on Thursday, Tottenham have received a big boost to their hopes of making it to Wembley.

Tottenham register new signings in time for Liverpool clash

Tottenham have been dealing with massive injury issues this season and with the goalkeeper position being a problem for Postecoglou, Spurs signed Antonin Kinsky from Slavia Prague very early in the January transfer window.

Their work was not finished there though, as Tottenham brought in both Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel on loan as the deadline drew closer.

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Danso arrived from RC Lens, with Spurs obligated to make it a permanent deal in the summer, which is worth £21m, reports the BBC. Unlike the centre-back, Tottenham have the option to sign Tel permanently, with a clause worth £50m included in the forward’s contract, reports the BBC.

The duo are expected to make an impact in North London and according to the Liverpool Echo, Tottenham have registered the two players in time for their Carabao Cup match with Liverpool.

The cup competition is a big deal for Postecoglou, and this will make his job of reaching Wembley easier as the Australian has already benefited from playing a new star against Liverpool.

Will history repeat itself between Liverpool and Tottenham?

Having arrived from Slavia Prague at the start of January, Kinksy’s debut for Tottenham was against Liverpool in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.

The 21-year-old was outstanding against the Reds, pulling off several saves to earn himself a clean sheet and a man-of-the-match performance, which allowed his team to take an advantage to Anfield this week.

History could repeat itself for Danso and Tel as the duo are players Slot is unlikely to have prepared for. That is a weapon Postecoglou needs to utilise if they are to get a result on Merseyside and the French forward in particular, could be of use.

Tottenham’s new signings are outliers in Thursday night’s match and Postecoglou will be hoping that they can make an instant impact on a very big stage.

Liverpool have gained a lot of plaudits for the way they have conducted business in the transfer market.

The Reds usually take a measured approach when it comes to incomings and have largely refrained from splashing the cash on big signings, unless it’s for certified game-changers like Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker.

The summer transfer window, however, proved to be a bit of a strange one for Liverpool as Arne Slot signed only Federico Chiesa in August and shut up shop.

Their squad didn’t need major surgery as the Dutchman inherited a fantastic bunch of players from Jurgen Klopp, but the previous transfer window still feels like a missed opportunity despite how the season has panned out so far.

And the Reds well and truly missed the trick with Archie Gray, who has earned rave reviews for his performances since signing for Tottenham Hotspur.

Liverpool missed out on Archie Gray in the summer

After Martin Zubimendi rejected a move to Liverpool, the Reds opted against pursuing alternatives, instead opting to use Ryan Gravenberch as a number six.

And it’s safe to say Slot’s decision to do so has already paid dividends, with the Dutch international playing the best football of his professional career and also forcing his way into Ronald Koeman’s squad for the national team.

However, it goes without saying that they could have done with a player like Gray in the squad, who was in the market in the summer after bursting onto the scene at Leeds United.

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Gray was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool – with the Reds scouting him for ages and holding a fantastic relationship with his family – but a move never came to fruition as he eventually signed for Tottenham.

The 18-year-old is capable of playing in central midfield and at right-back and has shown in his brief period in North London that his maturity belies his age.

Additionally, in recent weeks, Gray has been deployed as a central defender due to an ongoing injury crisis at Tottenham.

Much to everyone’s surprise, the young Englishman has held his own at the heart of the backline, producing a memorable display in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal against Liverpool.

The Reds have made in-game changes and have had to use Gravenberch as a centre-back in a few games this season, while the Dutchman, as good as he’s been, has played way too many minutes for his own good.

If Liverpool had a player like Gray in the squad, he could have been a great rotation option at the very least and would’ve had the chance to play quite a few minutes this season as the Reds are competing on all fronts.

All in all, Liverpool’s failure to sign Gray very much seems like a glorious opportunity they let slip in the summer.

Gray’s stats this season

Gray has been described as a phenomenal player by Jermaine Beckford and is one of the most exciting talents in the Premier League currently.

He has played 25 games across all competitions this season, with 12 of those coming as a central defender and six as a right-back.

At the risk of going overboard, his versatility could be compared to that of James Milner and we’ve seen over the years that players such as Gray have always had a place in great squads.

The Championship has produced some fantastic talents over the years and Gray certainly seems like the next one from their production line.

Liverpool missed out on him, but it would be worth keeping an eye on the Championship in the upcoming transfer window to see if they can nab a player or two.

It has been a mixed season at Liverpool for Conor Bradley under Arne Slot.

The young defender has impressed whenever he has featured under the Dutchman, but he sustained an injury against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League that kept him on the sidelines for over a month.

Bradley has relished the competition with Trent Alexander-Arnold and has proved during his stint with the first team that he more than belongs here.

His injury was obviously a tough one to take, but he’s now back and looks set to key role in the second half of the season.

And the Northern Irishman has hailed two unseen Liverpool coaches for their help during his rehabilitation.

Conor Bradley hails two Liverpool coaches for help with injury rehab

With Alexander-Arnold injured, Bradley featured against Real Madrid in November and was one of the best players on the pitch as he comfortably got the better of Kylian Mbappe on the night.

Frank Leboeuf was in awe of Bradley’s performance against Real Madrid, admitting that he stood up and applauded when the young defender crunched into Mbappe to win the ball back with a perfectly timed slide tackle.

However, in the dying embers of the game, he went down clutching his hamstring and was ruled out for over a month as he missed the festive period.

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Bradley is now back and started the Carabao Cup game against Tottenham Hotspur as the Reds lost the first leg 1-0.

Ahead of the game against Accrington Stanley later today, the Northern Irishman hailed physios Joe Lewis and Dave Rydings for their role behind the scenes with his recovery.

He said via LFC: “Obviously working with the physios, Joe Lewis and Dave [Rydings], helped me massively in getting back fit as quick as possible.

“It’s difficult, especially at the start because you’re asking, ‘Why has this happened to me again?’

“But you’ve just got to keep working hard every day and make sure that you’re ready whenever you come back.”

Bradley expected to feature regularly from now

Bradley has returned to full fitness and gave a good account of himself against Tottenham despite the result.

Liverpool are blessed to have two great options at right-back and the young defender is expected to give Alexander-Arnold a run for his money during the business end of the season.

Bradley is in line for another start vs Accrington Stanley as Arne Slot prepares to ring in the changes for an FA Cup third-round tie against the League Two side.

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Liverpool are coming to terms with their first loss for almost four months after defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.

The Reds have done incredibly well to avoid any losses over that period, and looked all set to add another draw to the pile in North London.

But after Lucas Bergvall was controversially allowed to stay on the pitch following a blatant second yellow card offence, the youngster then put Spurs ahead late in the game.

Arne Slot was not happy post-match, with the Bergvall incident unfortunately taking centre-stage.

The truth of the matter, however, was that Liverpool simply weren’t good enough to get a result across the 90 minutes.

There was plenty of rustiness within the Liverpool XI, with a few too many players not quite bringing their A game. One of those was Conor Bradley, who gave an honest assessment of his own display after the final whistle.

Conor Bradley admits to Tottenham rustiness

It was not such a surprise to see Slot throw Bradley in for his first start since the end of November.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was awful against Man United on Sunday and it was clear that a change may be needed for Spurs.

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However, the 21-year-old struggled to get into the game and was eventually taken off on the hour mark. And speaking to LFCTV after the match, Bradley admitted that he wasn’t altogether happy with his outing.

“I felt it was a good performance,” he said of the team.

“First-half I think we were sort of shaky at times, some new players came in, I’ve obviously been out for six weeks so I gave away the ball a bit too much. But, no, I thought it was a good performance, just disappointed with the result and the [Bergvall] decision.

“I think there always is [a bit of rust to shake off] when you’ve been out for a couple of weeks,” Bradley added. But I felt I was just growing and growing into the game but just managing my minutes coming off on 60 and ready to go Saturday.”

Bradley set for Accrington start

As Bradley alludes to at the end of his comments, the right-back looks set to build on his match fitness with another outing on Saturday.

Slot is set to rotate heavily for Accrington’s visit to Anfield in the FA Cup.

With Bradley clearly needing minutes to get back to the level he was before injury, that looks like another good chance to get game time in his legs.

The Northern Irishman was flying before his cruel injury against Real Madrid at the back end of November.

Liverpool return to League Cup action this week with the first of two semi-final legs against Premier League rivals Tottenham.

The two sides head into Wednesday’s tie in contrasting form, with Liverpool flying high at the top of the Premier League standings whilst Tottenham sit in the bottom half of the table in 12th place, a whole 22 points off the Reds.

With Arne Slot confirming that Dominik Szoboszlai will miss the game for Liverpool, there’s a good chance that the Anfield side will rotate their starting XI even with an FA Cup clash against League Two side Accrington Stanley coming up on Saturday.

Yet Liverpool’s injury problems don’t hold a candle to what Tottenham are going through, with Ange Postecoglou confirming the latest fitness updates for the north London side.

Tottenham have just one fit central defender to face Liverpool

Speaking to the press ahead of Wednesday’s clash, the Australian manager confirmed that Tottenham will have just one fully fit and available centre-back in Radu Dragusin, with Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies all out injured.

Postecoglou said when asked about Tottenham’s injuries: “Everyone else from the weekend feels better. Radu’s recovered, Archie’s better. They were the main ones. Deki [Dejan Kulusevski] was a little bit under the weather but he’s good.”

Injuries have been the main cause behind Tottenham’s horrific run of form of late, with Liverpool beating the north London side 6-3 last month in one of the most entertaining Premier League matches of the season so far.

And if Postecoglou refuses to adapt to Liverpool’s tactics on Wednesday, the Reds could enjoy yet another high-scoring win against Tottenham, who were torn apart by the Anfield side during their encounter in December.

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Tottenham could secure League Cup final spot in the first-leg

With Liverpool returning to the English capital having secured two huge results in London against Tottenham and West Ham over the festive period, the Reds will have every right to feel confident about their chances of begging another big win in N5.

And such a win could all-but confirm Tottenham’s place in the League Cup final, a competition Slot will be determined to win as his first piece of silverware as Liverpool manager.

Indeed, Liverpool will be huge favourites to progress against Tottenham, and the north London side could be fearing the worst when the two teams meet once again at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.

Liverpool will be top of the table on Christmas Day and have certainly looked the part under Arne Slot.

Their 6-3 win against Tottenham Hotspur took them four points clear of second-placed Chelsea despite having a game in hand, putting them in a fantastic position in the Premier League title race.

With games against Leicester City at Anfield and West Ham United at the London Stadium on the horizon, the Reds will look to finish 2025 with a flourish.

And their upcoming Premier League clash against the Foxes is the perfect opportunity for Harvey Elliott to get his first start in the competition under Slot.

Harvey Elliott should start for Liverpool vs Leicester City

Liverpool play three Premier League games in a week and will need every last member of their squad to negotiate the festive period unscathed.

Elliott featured in the 2-1 Carabao Cup win against Southampton and put on a fantastic showing as he got his name on the scoresheet in the first half.

The game against Tottenham could’ve come too soon for him after his showing against the Saints, but with Liverpool set to face Leicester at Anfield in two days, Elliott has the perfect chance to shine from the front vs the Foxes.

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His ability to play in between the lines as an advanced midfielder could help the Reds carve open Leicester, who are still finding their feet under new manager Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Slot has options in the centre of the park and could well turn to Curtis Jones if he wants to rotate Dominik Szoboszlai or Alexis Mac Allister, but Elliott is another option who is edging closer to his first Premier League start of the season.

Elliott’s stats this season

Jobi McAnuff described Elliott as a ‘quality’ player after his performance against Southampton as he continues to work his way up to full fitness.

The 2024-25 season hasn’t been kind due to him in terms of injuries, but he’s now back in the team and will look to play a big role in the second half of the season.