Liverpool Echo

Liverpool name strong team for Tottenham with Trent Alexander-Arnold and one more key man benched

Arne Slot has named Liverpool's XI for the clash with Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup on Tuesday

Diogo Jota makes his first Liverpool start for nearly three months as Conor Bradley steps in for Trent Alexander-Arnold against Tottenham Hotspur and Andy Robertson drops to the bench. The Reds are hosted by Spurs in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie and Arne Slot has made four changes to his side from the team that were held to a 2-2 draw with Manchester United on Sunday.

Alexander-Arnold and Robertson both saw their performances in the weekend's game called into question in certain sections are only reserved for the bench this evening. The likes of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa are also selected if Slot needs additional firepower in north London. Dominik Szoboszlai remains absent through illness.

Bradley steps into a back four that makes three changes as Jarell Quansah partners Virgil van Dijk and Kostas Tsimikas starts in place of Robertson at left-back. Ibrahima Konate drops to the bench after coming through his first 90 minutes since November 27 at the weekend.

Jota returned in the 2-2 draw with Fulham last month as a second-half substitute but hasn't started since going off injured in the victory against Chelsea at Anfield way back on October 20. The Portugal international leads the line with Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo on the right and left, respectively.

Slot keeps the same midfield that started Sunday's meeting with United as Curtis Jones starts further forward behind a pairing of Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch.

Liverpool: Alisson; Bradley, Quansah, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Jones, Gakpo; Jota.

Is Tottenham vs Liverpool on ITV? Carabao Cup semi-final TV details explained

The latest Liverpool news as Arne Slot's team take on Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday night

Liverpool will look to take a step closer to the first piece of silverware on offer this season as they take on Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of the semi-final of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night. The Reds travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the 8pm kick-off with the return leg scheduled for just under a month later (February 6, 8pm kick-off).

While the second leg at Anfield will be shown live on free to air TV on ITV, fans hoping to watch the first leg on the same channel will be left disappointed. That’s because, as part of the broadcast deal between ITV and the EFL, only two of the four semi-final clashes will be shown on the channel.

On Tuesday night, the first leg of the other semi-final between Arsenal and Newcastle United was shown on both ITV and Sky Sports. Goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon gave Newcastle a 2-0 advantage going into the second leg, which will only be shown live on Sky Sports.

In a statement released earlier this month, the EFL confirmed: "All ties will be broadcast live on Sky Sports. The first leg of Arsenal v Newcastle and the second leg of Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur will also be broadcast on ITV1 and ITVX as part of a collaboration to give all UK football fans the chance to watch free-to-air coverage of select Carabao Cup and EFL fixtures."

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Liverpool take on Tottenham in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, so we simulated the clash to predict what could happen

Liverpool will look to return to winning ways later today when they face Tottenham in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final. A 2-2 draw at Anfield against rivals Manchester United on on Sunday saw the Reds fail to capitalise on Arsenal dropping points in the Premier League title race.

An FA Cup clash against Accrington Stanley awaits Arne Slot's side at the weekend, but for now, all focus is on the Carabao Cup, with Liverpool travelling to the capital to face Spurs this evening.

The two teams last met just over two weeks ago in the Premier League, with the Reds impressing as they won 6-3 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

So can Liverpool get off to a winning start in the Carabao Cup semi-final? Let's take a look...

We simulated Tottenham vs Liverpool to get a score prediction

To complete this simulation, we used EA FC 25 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.

We predict that Tottenham could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their starting XI as follows: Austin; Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence; Bissouma, Bentancur, Kulusevski; Johnson, Solanke, Son.

We predict that Liverpool could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Kelleher; Bradley, Quansah, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Endo, Mac Allister, Elliott; Salah, Nunez, Diaz.

Liverpool were on top in the opening stages in north London, putting in a much better performance than they did in the first half against Man United. Attacking-wise, the Reds were too powerful for Spurs, with Slot's side going a goal ahead after just nine minutes.

As the hosts played out the back, a misplaced pass by Radu Dragusin fell to the feet of Mohamed Salah on the edge of the box, with the Egyptian controlling the ball fantastically before driving a pass into the middle. Luis Diaz picked up possession before quickly firing toward goal, and his shot was a good one, nestling in the far corner to put Liverpool 1-0 up.

Just four minutes later, Liverpool were gifted a chance to make it 2-0, with Nunez being brought down by Brandon Austin as he tried to go around the goalkeeper. Salah stepped up to take the spot-kick, and he curled his shot into the top left corner to double the Reds' lead early on.

Spurs couldn't deal with Liverpool's attacking threat, and just before the break, the Reds grabbed a third to give themselves a fantastic lead.

Alexis Mac Allister stole the ball off Yves Bissouma to kick-start an attack, with the Argentine launching a ball to Salah on the right. The winger surged at his man before crossing towards Nunez in the box, but he cleverly left the ball for Harvey Elliott instead who placed his shot past Austin for 3-0.

Similar to the last meeting between Liverpool and Spurs, Slot's side got a bit complacent after the restart, allowing the hosts to grab a goal just after the hour mark.

Brennan Johnson got the wrong side of Kostas Tsimikas to latch onto Dejan Kulusevski's through ball, and a smart finish saw the Welshman fire past Caoimhin Kelleher at the near post to pull a goal back.

After conceding, the Reds became much more assured at the back, seeing out the victory to give them a healthy lead going into the second leg at Anfield next month.

Latest Liverpool news ahead of Wednesday night's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg clash against Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Four Liverpool players have offered hints that they may be in line to start the Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur. The Reds will travel to North London to take on Spurs in the first leg of their semi-final on Wednesday evening.

Arne Slot's side will be hoping to join Arsenal or Newcastle in the Wembley Stadium final in March with a victory against Tottenham over two legs. Liverpool will take on Tottenham in their first leg clash 24 hours after Newcastle claimed a 2-0 over the Gunners in their semi-final.

It was less than three weeks ago that Liverpool had claimed a 6-3 win over Tottenham in the Premier League. Now the Reds will return to North London looking for a similar result, this time in the Carabao Cup.

Some members of the Liverpool squad have taken to social media hours before kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It has become a common tradition for players to post pre-match graphics when they are set to feature in their team's match later that day.

Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, Kostas Tsimikas and Alexis Mac Allister all posted pre-match graphics on their Instagram stories on Wednesday, hours before kick-off against Spurs. It remains to be seen if all four players will be in Arne Slot's starting line-up to face Spurs, but the posts indicate they are all set to be involved.

Players sharing such graphics on their social media channels in the past have historically been involved in the matchday squad. Tsimikas' inclusion would likely mean that Andy Robertson would drop to the bench, having started the draw with Manchester United at the weekend.

Liverpool head to Tottenham Hotspur tonight for a big Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg clash

You can't take your eyes off Mohamed Salah when he's on the field. And the same could be said of his social media accounts when he's off it.

Salah is arguably in the form of his Liverpool career. And that's saying something from a man who is now the club's fourth all-time leading scorer with 232 goals in 376 games and who has won every major trophy there is to win during his time on Merseyside.

But it's fair to suggest that the Egyptian, who leads both the 2024-25 Premier League goalscoring and assists chart with 18 and 13 respectively, is now, at the age of 32, the complete player.

That's why Reds fans are desperate for their hero to stay. Salah, of course, is out of contract at the end of the season and as it stands is set to walk away on a free transfer.

The man himself has been vocal about his desire to remain a Liverpool player. But while his interviews haven't been quiet as explosive since the one he conducted after the 3-2 win at Southampton in November, which his second-half double inspired, there have been occasional posts on social media that have raised eyebrows and got supporters searching for hidden meanings.

There was the image he posted after Sunday's 2-2 home draw with Manchester United, in which he gave the Reds the lead from the penalty spot, and then there was the response he gave to Jamie Carragher.

But while Salah's latest post is wordless, there appears nothing cryptic about it. Instead it shows the superstar travelling with team-mates Kostas Tsimikas and Ibrahima Konate on route to London for tonight's Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg tie at Tottenham Hotspur.

However, the post does show that Konate will not be getting the night off. The France international centre-back returned against Man United at the weekend.

But given it was his first appearance in nearly seven weeks, Arne Slot suggested afterwards Konate was unlikely to feature against Tottenham.

The Liverpool head coach said: "If you’ve been out for such a long time, it is difficult to immediately play two games a week. So it will not come as a surprise if he does not play on Wednesday.

"He played today for 90 minutes and I think he showed in that 90 minutes he was ready to play."

But it would appear that Konate, at worst, will be on the bench tonight. That's understandable given Slot is down to three fit and available centre-backs now that Joe Gomez is sidelined.

The only other doubt for this evening's match is midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, who missed the encounter with United.

Slot said of the Hungary international on Tuesday: "Yesterday he wasn’t in yet but if he is in today, I would doubt he is available to start the game. But hopefully he is in today, but yesterday he wasn’t."

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has claimed Mohamed Salah would struggle in his team

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has labelled Liverpool star Mohamed Salah as "world-class" but admitted the Egyptian would struggle in his side. The 32-year-old tops the Premier League charts for goals and assists after helping the Reds move six points clear at the top of the table.

The Liverpool forward was twice on target in the meeting between the two clubs towards the end of December after Arne Slot's side ran out 6-3 winners in North London. Spurs are searching for a trophy to end their silverware drought and host the Reds in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg, before the two lock horns in February for a place in the final at Wembley.

Postecoglou's side are winless since their League Cup quarter-final triumph over Manchester United, suffering disappointment against the Reds, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United.

Salah has managed a goal or assist in every Premier League game he has played since their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in October. Despite the Egyptian's recent exploits in front of goal, Postecoglou believes even the Reds record-breaker would struggle.

"Mo is a world-class player, but if you put him in our team now I'm not sure he'll have that same level of performance because of the situation we're in as a group," he said.

"His attacking play, who do you need? You need a team that's kind of in good form, creating opportunities, playing on the front foot, having a really solid foundation of a defence that is cohesive. None of these things exist at the moment."

In the other semi-final, Arsenal suffered a 2-0 defeat at home to Newcastle United, with Liverpool's defence of the competition on the line, they will be hoping to take an advantage into next month's second-leg.

Liverpool switch their attention to the defence of the Carabao Cup tonight when they head to Tottenham Hotspur for a semi-final first-leg showdown

Liverpool will put their pursuit of a second Premier League title on the backburner this evening when they switch attention to their defence of the Carabao Cup. Standing in the way of the Reds' third final in four years is top-flight rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Liverpool, who beat Chelsea in the 2024 and the 2022 Wembley showpieces, will be hot favourites. The Reds ran out 6-3 winners when the teams met in the league last month and, while their 2-2 draw at home to Manchester United on Sunday was viewed as a slight disappointment in some quarters, their form in contrast to Tottenham is stark.

While Spurs will go into tonight's semi-final first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the back of a four-game winless run, and five defeats in their last nine outings, Arne Slot's men have lost just once in 28 matches in all competitions so far this season.

And even though the Premier League and the Champions League will take bigger priority at Anfield, the Carabao Cup has always provided an opportunity of early silverware for Liverpool, who have lifted the trophy a record 10 times.

The good news for Reds boss Slot is that he has almost a fully fit squad to choose from. The only player certain to be missing this evening is versatile defender Joe Gomez, who according to his manager will remain sidelined for a 'few weeks' after picking up an injury in the 5-0 win at West Ham United on December 29.

Gomez's absence has been tempered by the return of Ibrahima Konate, who was back in the starting line-up for the big clash with bitter-rivals Man United.

But given it was the France international centre-back's first appearance in nearly seven weeks, Slot admitted afterwards he is unlikely to feature against Tottenham. The Liverpool head coach said: "If you’ve been out for such a long time, it is difficult to immediately play two games a week. So it will not come as a surprise if he does not play on Wednesday.

"He played today for 90 minutes and I think he showed in that 90 minutes he was ready to play."

If Konate is absent from the XI Slot names, Jarell Quansah is expected to start alongside Virgil van Dijk in the heart of the Dutchman's defence. They are the Reds' only two fit and available senior centre-backs.

There are more options in midfield for Slot. However, he admitted in his press conference on Tuesday that Dominik Szoboszlai is a doubt.

The Tottenham Hotspur news gets no better for Ange Postecoglou ahead of their Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg tie at home to Liverpool

Four games without a win, five defeats in nine, two victories in 12 - whatever way you dress it up, Tottenham Hotspur's form going into tonight's Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg tie at home to Liverpool does not make for pretty reading. But there is context behind it.

While head coach Ange Postecoglou's managerial philosophy has been questioned during his side's struggles, in defence of the under-fire Spurs head coach, he is without a number of his strongest players, particularly in defence.

But the bad news for Tottenham - and good news for Liverpool - is that the situation has not got any better since their 2-1 Premier League loss at home to Newcastle United on Saturday. In fact, it's got worse.

So much so that Spurs could be without 11 players for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium showdown against a Reds side who are looking to reach a third League Cup final in four years.

Postecoglou's first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is definitely out with the fractured ankle he sustained in the 4-0 win at Manchester City on November 23. Veteran Fraser Forster has been deputising between the posts but he missed out against Newcastle with a bug that hit also hit Radu Dragusin and his stand-in centre-back partner Archie Gray.

Dragusin - Spurs' only fit and available senior centre-back - had to come off at half-time but Postecoglou said yesterday that the Romanian was feeling better along with Gray and winger Dejan Kulusevski, who had also been under the weather.

Dragusin and Gray are likely to start in the heart of the defence as first-choice centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero as well as Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie remain sidelined.

And the makeshift pair could be lining up in front of a new goalkeeper. After 17 years at Tottenham, Brandon Austin made his first-team debut at the weekend. While the 25-year-old American was named man of the match, he could lose his place to new signing Antonin Kinsky, who completed a £12.5m move from Slavia Prague at the weekend.

On whether the 21-year-old Czech Republic youth international would start against Liverpool, Postecoglou said: " We'll see. He arrived Sunday and he's had a couple of days' of training. He's obviously registered to play."

Another player Spurs will welcome into the squad is midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur after he served a one-match Premier League suspension after incurring five yellow cards. However, Postecoglou will certainly be without two more midfielders in James Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr.

They are banned for this evening's first leg after picking up their second cautions of this season's competition in the thrilling quarter-final victory at home to Manchester United.

Arne Slot gives Dominik Szoboszlai update as Liverpool line-up for Tottenham explained

Dominik Szoboszlai missed Liverpool's draw with Manchester United due to illness

Dominik Szoboszlai remains a doubt for Liverpool’s League Cup semi-final first leg clash with Tottenham Hotspur. The Hungarian missed the Reds’ 2-2 draw with Manchester United through illness.

The midfielder is yet to return to training at the AXA Training Centre. And Arne Slot confirmed that the 24-year-old is unlikely to be fit enough to start at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium even if he was declared available for the game as a result.

“Yesterday he wasn’t in yet but if he is in today, I would doubt he is available to start the game,” the Dutchman admitted. “But hopefully he is in today, but yesterday he wasn’t.”

Slot was giving little else away about his Reds line up ahead of facing Tottenham, avoiding the opportunity to confirm whether Caoimhin Kelleher would return in goal despite the League Cup being ‘his competition’ under predecessor Jurgen Klopp.

While the Dutchman hinted he could make changes in the capital, confirming he has an idea of the side he intends to select, he suggested that his line up would at least be stronger than the much-changed side that faced Southampton in the quarter-finals.

“I think if you look at all the fixtures we have had this season, there are so many things going into a line-up,” he said. “Short term, long term, qualities of the opponents, where are my players, so it will always be a decision made about, in our opinion, the best line-up for tomorrow.

“In some situations, for Southampton away or other games, in my opinion the best line up was the ones that didn’t start a lot. Let’s see what that is tomorrow for the game we play against Tottenham.

“I didn’t say that for tomorrow the players will play that haven't played much. I said there are many considerations before you make a line up but there are many other things going into a line up as well.

“So we might play a few players that haven’t played all the games and we might play a few players that have played all the games.

“I can tell you now it is the first time we train again after Sunday. Yesterday the players were not off but they did recovery so let’s see how they came out of the game and then we will make the line up for tomorrow.”

He continued: "I think I have decided the whole line up already. In many ways people have tried to get to know what the line up is. There are many things going into a line up and that is the same for tomorrow again.

“You will find out tomorrow what arguments there are. If they ask me before the game and after the game, I am always more than happy to answer those questions.

“But first of all I think the players should know how we’re going to play. And if all of them are available, that is something we also have to find out.”