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Liverpool team news ahead of the Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg tie against Tottenham Hotspur.

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Arne Slot has provided a Liverpool injury news ahead of the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg clash against Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow.

The Reds head to North London against the backdrop of a 2-2 draw against Manchester United last weekend. Now they face Spurs less than a month after earning an enthralling 6-3 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Dominik Szobsozlai was absent against United because of illness. The midfielder also missed the 5-0 win at West Ham United as he was suspended. Szoboszlai was not at training yesterday and won’t start even if he is involved in today’s session. Head coach Slot said: “Yesterday he wasn't in yet. If he's in today I would doubt if he is in to start the game.”

Meanwhile, Joe Gomez remains unavailable for another few weeks with a hamstring issue. Dyche added: “Unfortunately Joe Gomez is injured but he will be back in a few weeks.”

Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley came back from respective knee and hamstring injuries in the United draw. Konate featured for the entire 90 minutes, with Bradley coming on for the final five minutes.

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Liverpool will visit Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday following their draw to Manchester United.

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Liverpool have little time to stew over the points dropped at Anfield over the weekend, as their next challenge in the Carabao Cup semi-final is on the way. The Reds will make the trip to London on Wednesday to take on Tottenham Hotspur, hoping to secure a solid result and take one step closer to defending their crown.

Liverpool’s unbeaten Premier League run continued but players were visibly frustrated during their draw to rivals Manchester United on home soil. Fortunately for the Reds, Arsenal and Chelsea both dropped points, maintaining the six-point buffer at the top of the table. Liverpool also still have a game in-hand to play after the Merseyside Derby was postponed in December.

Slot and co now have a week away from Premier League action as focus shifts to cup tournaments. Spurs, who are winless in their last four matches, await the arrival of the Carabao Cup champions for Wednesday’s clash in the capital. The officiating team has been confirmed for the fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — here’s who will be in charge of the semi-final first leg.

Tottenham vs Liverpool Carabao Cup referee

Stuart Attwell has been appointed Wednesday’s referee, with James Mainwaring and Constantine Hatzidakis acting as his assistants. The fourth official will be Tim Robinson, while Paul Tierney and Timothy Wood are on VAR duty.

In his last six games, Attwell has dished out 21 cards, including a red for Brighton in their meeting with Chelsea back in November. His most recent fixture was Southampton’s 5-0 defeat to Brentford, where he issued two bookings and awarded a penalty to the Saints.

The last time Attwell officiated a Liverpool match was at the start of the season in the 2-0 win over Brentford. The 42-year-old showed five yellow cards throughout the game, putting Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch in the book.

Liverpool will travel to Tottenham for the second time in just over two weeks. Their last meeting ended in a thrilling nine-goal spectacle, which saw the Reds stamp a 6-3 win over the North London side. The Reds went 5-1 up before Spurs got two back late in the second half but an 85th minute Luis Díaz goal hammered home the victory.

Tottenham are currently down in 12th in the Premier League table following their latest 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United. Spurs have not registered a Premier League win at home since November but they were able to edge out Man United in the Carabao Cup quarter-final last month.

Liverpool won all of their games over the festive period and netted an impressive 14 goals. They signed off their final game of 2024 with the 5-0 demolition of West Ham, featuring goals from five different goal-scorers. The Reds’ return to action did not end in the result many fans were expecting, especially amid the ongoing struggles in the Man United camp. United’s point against Liverpool did little for their progression up the league table. Rúben Amorim’s side are down in 13th, just seven points above Ipswich Town in the relegation zone.

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Tottenham vs Liverpool team news ahead of the Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg tie at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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Arne Slot takes charge of his first semi-final as Liverpool boss when they face Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday (8pm GMT).

The Reds make the trip to North London for the first leg of the last-four tie. Liverpool are the current holders of the competition and haven’t had an easy pathway so far. They have played three Premier League rivals and defeated West Ham, Brighton and Southampton.

A return to Wembley is on the horizon - but Tottenham must be defeated. The Reds may have earned an enthralling 6-3 win over Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium less than a move ago but they cannot afford to be complacent. Certainly an improved performances from the 2-2 draw against Manchester United is required as Liverpool failed to move eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

Tottenham head into the clash having failed to win their past four games and languish 12th in the table. But they did show character in a 2-1 loss to Newcastle United despite having depleted numbers.

Ahead of the Carabao Cup tie, here’s an early look at the team news for both outfits.

Tottenham team news

Micky van de Ven - out

The key centre-back remains unavailable because of a hamstring issue sustained last month.

Cristian Romero - out

Van de Ven's fellow defensive partner is still absent as he recovers from his own hamstring complaint.

Destiny Udogie - out

The left-back is the most recent Tottenham player to suffer a hamstring injury and won't be back until next month.

Ben Davies - out

The versatile defender hit a setback in his recovery from injury and remains on the sidelines.

Guglielmo Vicario - out

Tottenham's No.1 goalkeeper is absent until the end of February after having ankle surgery in November.

Richarlison - out

The former Everton attacker is closing in on a return from a hamstring issue but will not be back to face Liverpool.

Wilson Odobert - out

The winger required hamstring surgery in November and is sidelined for the long-term.

Mikey Moore - out

The exciting teenager has been unavailable for several weeks since October but will need to get training under his belt before being considered for action.

James Maddison - out

The attacking midfielder has picked up two bookings in the Carabao Cup and must serve a one-game ban.

Pape Matar Sarr - out

The midfielder has also been issued two yellow cards in previous rounds of the competitions and must sit out the first leg of the semi-final.

Radu Dragusin - doubt

Spurs' only fit centre-back had to be substituted at half-time against Newcastle because of a sickness bug.

Fraser Forster - minor doubt

The goalkeeper could not play against Newcastle because of illness. He might be back, though.

Liverpool team news

Joe Gomez - out

The defender is absent with a hamstring injury for another few weeks.

Dominik Szoboszlai - minor doubt

The midfielder did not feature against United because of illness and much will depend on how he recovers. Szoboszlai also missed the 5-0 thrashing of West Ham as he was serving a one-match suspension.

Ibrahima Konate - minor doubt

The centre-back returned from a knee injury against Man Utd after being unavailable for more than a month. Slot did admit after the game that Konate will not be able to play against Tottenham so the France international could well be omitted from the squad, but a berth on the bench is much more likely.

Tyler Morton - doubt

The midfielder has missed Liverpool's past four games. His last outing was in the quarter-final victory over Southampton.

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Liverpool will face Tottenham in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg next week.

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Ange Postecoglou has admitted that Tottenham Hotspur will be without four defenders when they face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final next week.

The Reds will make the trip to North London for the first leg of the tie on Wednesday evening. The encounter takes place just weeks after Arne Slot’s Premier League leaders earned an enthralling 6-3 win at Spurs.

Tottenham’s issues are the back were glaring as they were without key centre-back duo Micky van de Van and Cristian Romero. In addition, the versatile Ben Davies was absent. Those three remain sidelined - and now another regular starter in Destiny Udogie is set for a prolonged period on the sidelines. The left-back sustained a hamstring issue in a 2-2 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers last week. Udogie is likely to be absent for six weeks.

In addition, No.1 goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is unavailable until the end of February, with Richarlison and Mikey Moore not returning to training until at least next week.

Speaking ahead of Spurs’ clash against Newcastle tomorrow, head coach Postecoglou said: "So there’s Destiny obviously with these hamstring you know, it looks around the sort of six-week mark for him missing, obviously we lose [Rodrigo] Bentancur suspended, none of the injured ones are kind of back yet. We had a bit of an illness bug running through the squad as well, so a few missing training, but that’s alright, we’ll be ok.

"Yeah, at this stage, Richy and Mikey will be the next two off the rank, hopefully next week at some point and then Ben, Micky van de Van and Romero all kind of around the same time, so that back end of January, they're all sort of slated to return."

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Liverpool face Tottenham in the Carabao Cup semi-finals next week and the home side have mounting injury issues.

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Tottenham Hotspur have suffered their latest injury blow ahead of next week’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool.

The Reds make the trip to North London less than a month since the enthralling 6-3 win over Ange Postecoglou’s side in the Premier League. Liverpool are six points clear at the top of the table - some 21 points above Tottenham.

Spurs have had an injury crisis of late, with key centre-back duo Micky van de Van and Cristian Romero absent with respective hamstring issues, along with the versatile defender Ben Davies and No.1 goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

And in their 2-2 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Destiny Udogie was forced out. The left-back sustained a hamstring problem of his own. Tottenham boss Postecoglou said: “I think it's a hamstring. Again, like I said, we've been relying on a core group of players because we just haven't had the ability to rotate, so at some point, it was going to catch up with us. Unfortunately, it caught up with Destiny.”

According to Football.London it is expected that Udogie will be sidelined ‘until late February at the earliest as he faces up to eight weeks out’. That means that the Italy international will be unavailable for Tottenham’s clash against Liverpool on Wednesday 8 January. In addition, Richarlison and Wilson Odobert (both hamstring) will remain absent.

Spurs will also be without James Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr for the last-four encounter. The pair have picked up two yellow cards in the competition so far and are therefore suspended for the first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Despite their troubles, Postecoglou is remaining optimistic that Tottenham can turn around their faltering form. Spurs are 11 points off the Champions League places, with qualification the aim at the start of the season.

The Aussie said: “I just feel that at some point we'll get a relatively healthy squad and when we do that we'll be able to perform at a high level consistently and we've already shown this year we can beat anyone. There's a chance there you can go on a run. But at the moment that's secondary to the first bit, we have to try to get some support for the players - both mentally and physically and in terms of numbers to give them the opportunity to play at their best.”

Liverpool, meanwhile, may be without three defenders against Tottenham. Ibrahima Konate (knee) and Conor Bradley (hamstring) have been unavailable for the past month. In addition, Joe Gomez sustained a hamstring issue of his own in the 5-0 thrashing of West Ham United in the Reds’ final game of 2024.

Head coach Arne Slot said: “You saw today an injury of Joe Gomez. If a player says he wants to stop, he has to be changed. In a sprint, then we all know it’s a hamstring and we all know it’s going take a while before he is back. I don’t know how long but he will be out for quite a bit. These situations can happen in a season.”

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Former Spurs man Paul Robinson would like to see this Liverpool star in North London.

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The January transfer window is fast approaching and once the final games of 2024 have been completed, clubs can shift their attention to potential deals on the market. The new year is known for being a more tricky window to navigate, however, plenty of clubs have been linked with significant targets to bolster their chances of titles, qualifications, and survival at the end of the season.

Liverpool were not initially expected to get much done in January but rumours have been building up in recent weeks. While the Reds still may not opt to spend big following the turn of the new year, a lot of speculation is surrounding their summer.

Liverpool are pushing for the Premier League title in Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and thanks to the latest lot of results, they have eased some extra daylight between them and Chelsea. The result of Slot’s debut season could determine whether some players stay or leave. Trent Alexander-Arnold for example is out of contract in June and remains heavily linked to Real Madrid.

However, there are some players whose departure seems inevitable at this point. Caoimhin Kelleher has been a standout deputy to Alisson once again this season but with the Brazilian back to fitness, it’s been business as usual. Kelleher is back to sitting games out on the bench and many pundits have branded him the best No.2 in the world.

The Republic of Ireland international had been linked with an exit over the summer as he longs for a permanent starting position. Celtic were heavily interested in signing him but his price tag proved too expensive.

As we approach the half-way point in the season, clubs are starting to get their ducks in a row. It’s an almost impossible scenario that Kelleher will leave Liverpool in January but Paul Robinson fancies the 26-year-old joining his former side.

The former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper has discussed Ange Postecoglou’s options between the sticks, with first choice Guglielmo Vicario currently out injured. Robinson has said there is ‘no rush’ for Spurs to panic sign a new goalkeeper in January, as Fraser Forster is a solid back-up. However, the idea of Kelleher joining in the summer has piqued his interest.

“You look at him [Forster], you look at the experience that he’s got, I don’t think for what you’re going to get on loan or as an emergency signing now for what you’re going to buy now, you need to buy better than what you’ve got. I’m not so sure you do when you look at the options out there, January is always typically, it’s a difficult month to do business,” Robinson told Football Insider.

“Don’t bring somebody in who’s not better than what you’ve already got, I just don’t think there’s anybody out there in January that would fit the bill. Kelleher’s time at Liverpool with Marmadashvili coming in, that would be a brilliant option if we were talking in the summer.”

Kelleher is under contract at Liverpool until 2026 and reports over the summer claimed they wanted £35 million for his signature. It’s unlikely the shot-stopper will commit to a new deal, especially with Giorgi Mamardashvili arriving ahead of the new season.

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Everton opted to sell Ben Godfrey to Atalanta but he could return to the Premier League.

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Ben Godfrey has been linked with a Premier League return - just months after leaving Everton.

The defender left the Blues in the summer transfer window to join Serie A side Atalanta. Godfrey was down the pecking order at Goodison Park, with Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski the preferred centre-back duo.

Last season, the ex-Norwich City man made only 16 appearances for Sean Dyche’s side. With a year left on his contract, Everton banked a fee of £10 million for Godfrey.

However, he has been a bit-part player since joining Atalanta. He has made just five appearances in all competitions as La Dea sit at the summit of the Serie A table.

Football Insider reports that there is a ‘growing belief’ that Godfrey could return to England in January on loan. Nottingham Forest and Wolves have previously been linked with his services. However, it is suggested that Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing the former England international.

Spurs currently have centre-half duo Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero sidelined through injury. During their 6-3 loss to Liverpool yesterday, 18-year-old midfielder Archie Gray was forced to operate in defence along with Radu Dragusin. It is claimed that Ange Postecoglou’s side are the ‘frontrunners’ to land Godfrey on a temporary basis for the remainder of the campaign.

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Liverpool ran out 6-3 winners over Tottenham Hotspur to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

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Ange Postecoglou admitted Tottenham Hotspur’s loss to Liverpool was ‘painful’.

The Reds delivered an enthralling 6-3 win in North London to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League table. Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister put the visitors in command before James Maddison reduced the deficit for Spurs.

But Dominik Szoboszlai netted to give the Reds a healthy advantage at half-time before a Mo Salah double after the interval put them in command. While Tottenham rallied somewhat, with Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke bagging, Diaz restored Arne Slot’s side’s three-goal lead.

Tottenham were missing several key players, including centre-back duo Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, No.1 goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur. Postecolgou felt that facing Liverpool was a ‘bridge too far’ for his depleted Spurs side. The Aussie said: “Look, it was a difficult day for us and a painful result. Credit to Liverpool, they are a very good side and are in a great moment.

“They are very settled, in great form, great belief. It was just a bridge too far for us today. You could tell we were lacking a little bit of energy and the ability to really compete with them at the same level.”

Postecoglou was subsequently asked if Liverpool showed him the yardstick that Tottenham need to reach. However, when starting his answer, the ex-Celtic supremo then stopped himself in his tracks. He replied: “Yeah, fair bit. Fair bit. Considering they’re...no. Fair bit. I'll just leave it there. They are a good side. A top side.”

Then pressed on how far away a full-strength Tottenham were from Liverpool, who they will face in the Carabao Cup semi-finals, Postecoglou added: “Don’t know because we are still growing as a team and we are 18 months into building a new team with a new way of playing.

It’s fair to say we have had some challenges along the way considering the availability (of players). Particularly at the moment so it is very hard to see where we are at. What I will say is the players are not wavering in their commitment to what we are trying to do. Even today, a difficult day, I’m really proud of the fact they still tried to play a certain way knowing that is our way forward.”

Mo Salah scored twice in Liverpool’s thrilling victory over Tottenham.

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Mo Salah says there is still no update on his Liverpool future.

The winger netted a double in the Reds thrilling 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur to secure they are top of the Premier League at Christmas. Salah has also moved to fourth on Liverpool’s all-time scorer charts ahead o the legendary Billy Liddell on 229.

But the Egypt international is out of contract at the end of the season. He admitted last month he was still to be offered a new deal by the club.

And asked by Sky Sports (via BBC Sport) if there is an update on his future, Salah simply replied: “No.”

Liverpool’s win over Tottenham will go down as a Premier League classic for the ages. Salah and Luis Diaz fired doubles, with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szboszlai bagging. And Salah admitted the enthralling battle was exactly what Arne Slot’s men were braced for.

He added: We expected that [a chaotic game], the way they play, they open the game, they enjoy their football, physically tough and mentally we always have to be in the game.

"They don't change much the way they play, it’s intense. City came here and struggled, other teams too. I’m happy we won because they play an intense game."

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Liverpool team news ahead of the Premier League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur.

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Liverpool will without two defenders for their trip to Tottenham Hotspur today (4.30pm GMT).

Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley remain out of action for the Reds. The pair suffered injuries in a 2-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League almost a month ago. Konate sustained a knee issue while Bradley suffered a hamstring complaint.

They have been absent for the previous five games and have yet to return to training before the Tottenham encounter. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, head coach Arne Slot said: “These are the two that are still 'in the red', so they don't train with us at the moment. They are on their way back but they don't train with the team yet."

"The main thing is that if they come back, they are ready to come back and we must not focus on one, two or three days. It's more important for the long term that they stay fit afterwards. Until now they [the medical staff] have done really well and hopefully with Conor and Ibou the same thing happens.”

Liverpool will welcome back Andy Robertson to their squad after he was suspended for the 2-1 win over Southampton in the Carabao Cup. Alexis Mac Allister also returned to Premier League action after being suspended for last weekend’s 2-2 draw against Fulham.

However, there were a trio of players not spotted in the latest training photos uploaded by Liverpool. On Friday, Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa and Tyler Morton were not sighted at the AXA Training Centre. It could be a case that all three were given additional recovery time. Chiesa, in particular, is being managed carefully after arriving from Juventus in the summer transfer window short of match fitness. The winger featured in the second half against Southampton.

The likes of Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch were all given a rest midweek so should benefit. A win for Liverpool over Tottenham will see them top of the Premier League table at Christmas.

Potential Liverpool players to face Tottenham

Goalkeepers: Alisson, Kelleher, Jaros.

Defenders: Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Gomez, Quansah, Robertson, Tsimikas, Nallo.

Midfielders: Gravenberch, Endo, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Jones, Elliott, Morton, Nyoni, McConnell.