The Athletic

Eagle-eyed viewers of Sky Sports’ coverage of Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 win against Manchester United last Sunday will have noticed a change.

When head coach Ange Postecoglou was interviewed before kick-off and asked about the lift of having players back from injury, he was described as “Tottenham Hotspur Head Coach”. When the Tottenham starting XI was displayed down the left-hand side of the screen, it said “Spurs” at the top. And when the graphics showed the team in their positions, starting with a cutout of Postecoglou, arms crossed, the word across his chest was “Spurs”.

Nothing too surprising about that, you might think. Tottenham Hotspur is the name of the club. Spurs is their common nickname.

But if you saw the Sky Sports coverage of Tottenham’s 3-2 defeat at Everton on January 19, it looked subtly different. During Postecoglou’s pre-match interview, he was described as “Tottenham Head Coach”. The team graphic just had the word “Tottenham” at the top. And the cutout image of arms-crossed Postecoglou again had “Tottenham” written across his chest. When Sky Sports showed the current Premier League table, it was “Tottenham”. And the form table, in which they were 18th out of 20, “Tottenham” again.

So what changed? What happened to the word ‘Tottenham’ over the last few weeks?

The answer lies in an email that was circulated to Premier League broadcasters on February 10, that has been seen by The Athletic. Titled “Tottenham Hotspur Naming Update”, the email makes clear how the club wants to be referenced.

“Tottenham Hotspur have provided clarification regarding the club’s name. They have requested that the club are primarily known as Tottenham Hotspur, with Spurs being the preferred short version. The club have requested that they are not referred to as Tottenham.”

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This guidance has gone out to Premier League broadcasters all around the world. The changes that Sky Sports made to their graphics have also been made by other networks that show Tottenham matches. The Premier League website is in line too. It is always “Tottenham Hotspur” or “Spurs” there, never “Tottenham”.

The club’s explanation for this is simple: Tottenham is the name of the area, but not the name of the club. It is long-standing club policy not to refer to themselves as ‘Tottenham’. There is nothing new about this, it has been the club’s position going back to 2011.

What specifically changed is that in November last year, the club unveiled a “remastered brand identity”, which was “rolled out across all the Club’s physical and digital touchpoints”. This came with a “Brand Playbook”, which explains in comprehensive detail what the new brand identity means. Towards the end of a section titled “Tone of voice” (“Defiant, Authentic, Rallying, Energetic”), there is a paragraph that makes very clear how the club wants to be described.

“In a world full of Uniteds, Citys and Rovers, there is only one Hotspur, Tottenham Hotspur. When referring to the team or the brand, please use ‘Tottenham Hotspur’, ‘Tottenham Hotspur Football Club’ or ‘THFC’. Never refer to our Club as ‘Tottenham’, ‘Tottenham Hotspur FC’ or ‘TH’.”

This month’s fresh guidance to broadcasters is an apparent attempt to underline this, and to make sure that ‘Spurs’ rather than ‘Tottenham’ becomes the common shorthand when ‘Tottenham Hotspur’ does not fit.

On the one hand, there certainly is an argument to be made that ‘Tottenham’ is just the name of the local area, and not the name of the club itself. There are plenty of Premier League clubs for whom no one would just use the first geographical part of the name.

You would get some strange looks turning up at Villa Park saying you were looking forward to watching ‘Aston’ play. Very few would refer to the side who play at Molineux simply as ‘Wolverhampton’, or at the City Ground as ‘Nottingham’. And that is before we confront the thorny issue of places, including Manchester or Sheffield or Bristol, where two clubs share the same regional descriptor.

But on the other hand, there are clubs where the first part of the name does the job. Everyone knows who Newcastle or Leeds or Leicester are. And for many Spurs fans, the name ‘Tottenham’ is perfectly serviceable in telling the world who they support. It has always been commonplace in the Spurs community in a way that ‘Aston’ never has been at Villa Park.

It does lead you to question why ‘Spurs’ might be preferable to ‘Tottenham’ as the shortened name of the club. ‘Spurs’ certainly is distinct “in a world full of Uniteds, Citys and Rovers”, although maybe less so in the global marketplace, given San Antonio Spurs in the NBA. Still, it is memorable and punchy and looks good emblazoned on merchandise.

‘Hotspur’ is certainly unique and indispensable heritage. The name comes from when a new football club was established in the area in 1882, and two brothers, Hamilton and Lindsay Casey, were searching for a brand identity of their own. They named their club after Henry Percy, the box-office medieval knight who tried to overthrow Henry IV and was killed at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. His nickname was ‘Hotspur’, hence the name of the club, and hence the club’s logo too. This is history worth clinging to.

But Tottenham is inseparable from Tottenham Hotspur too. It was on Tottenham Marshes where the Casey brothers started playing 143 years ago, Tottenham where the old White Hart Lane ground was opened in 1899, closing in 2017, and then Tottenham where the futuristic new stadium was opened in 2019. Other than their brief spell at Wembley while the new stadium was built, Tottenham Hotspur have always played in this very specific corner of north-east London. This is the club’s home, and their community, for whom they do so much good work.

For many fans, there is no distinction between the club and the area itself. They are synonymous. And they will continue to be ‘Tottenham’ regardless of what the guidance says.

(Top photo: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

Picture the perfect centre-back.

You’re probably thinking of somebody like Sergio Ramos executing a perfectly-timed slide tackle or winning a towering header. With Micky van de Ven, the first images which spring to mind are of him charging up the pitch with the ball at his feet or chewing up the ground as he hunts down an opposition striker.

They have become the 23-year-old’s signature moves. He recorded a superb assist in Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-0 victory over Everton in August and repeated the trick a few weeks later when they beat Manchester United. On both occasions, he won possession in his own half before striding forward and passing to a team-mate in the box. Opposition players bounced off him or were too scared to bring him down at full speed — it would be like jumping in the way of a rampaging rhino.

Van de Ven recorded the two fastest sprint speeds in the Premier League last season: 37.7km/h in a 3-2 victory over Brentford and 37.2km/h in a 4-0 defeat to Newcastle United. The only players who came close were Luton Town’s Chiedozie Ogbene and Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga (both 36.9km/h). During Spurs’ 3-0 victory over United at Old Trafford, there were a couple of occasions where Alejandro Garnacho did not even bother chasing a loose ball because he saw who he was competing against.

But Van de Ven in full flow has become a rare sight. He has only played 12 times in all competitions this season due to a persistent hamstring injury and his only appearances in the last four months were against Chelsea on December 8, when he completed 79 minutes despite reservations over his readiness to play, and a 45-minute cameo in a Europa League victory over Elfsborg in January. But Van de Ven was not in the squad for the 2-0 victory over Brentford three days later: Postecoglou insisted he had not “reinjured the (same) injury” but he missed a crucial week as Spurs were eliminated from the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.

This is not a new problem: last season, he missed 10 games with hamstring issues. It feels like Spurs have a Ferrari collecting dust in their garage while they work out what the best fuel for it is.

Last week, in his press conference before the game against Manchester United, Tottenham’s head coach Ange Postecoglou said that they were looking into the “mechanics” of Van de Ven’s body to work out how they can maximise his speed without the risk of further injuries. He also revealed Spurs had received “guidance and information” from external experts on how to make sure that “Van de Ven’s body is better equipped to handle the athlete he is”.

“With Micky, we made a decision, and I was certainly the catalyst of that, to just have a look at exactly, beyond the injury, how we can get him back in a good spot,” Postecoglou said. “He is doing some different things and working with some different people.

“It’s not as much about the injury as about the mechanics of him because we want him back and we want him back in a really good space. He is training and feels really good. We are still confident his return is imminent but we want to make sure we get it right.

“Look, it is not my space but you look for the experts in those areas and there have been various people looking at different ways. He is an elite athlete but he is also at the extremities of speed and with all those athletes there are different methodologies in how they get to the space where they can perform at that optimum level without putting their body at risk.

“He is still a very young man in terms of experience and his career. We want to get it right. What you want is for Micky to play 10 years at the very best possible level. This hopefully gives us an opportunity to address as much as we can, in season, to give him the best chance of getting back to the level we know he can get to.”

It is not unusual for a footballer’s running style to come under scrutiny. During his time with Middlesbrough, Adama Traore worked with the former British sprinter Darren Campbell. While Arne Slot was in charge of Dutch side Feyenoord, the medical and performance team worked on improving Mexico forward Santiago Gimenez’s running style as they noted “the control of his trunk and around his pelvis” could be improved. Gimenez, who joined Milan in January, had to settle for reduced playing time at the start of the 2022-23 season as club staff focused on tweaking his technique.

Mauricio Pochettino, meanwhile, helped Kylian Mbappe learn how to control his speed during their time together at Paris Saint-Germain and that decelerating at the right moment could help him to quickly change direction or create space to shoot.

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that Manchester United nearly signed Jordan Henderson from Sunderland but medical staff believed his running style meant he was at a higher risk of suffering injuries. United have recently hired Harry Marra, a world-renowned track and field coach who has worked with multiple Olympic medallists, as a consultant to offer his insight on athletics and running techniques.

The difference with Van de Ven is that this is not the first time in his career where he has been picked apart. When he was a teenager in Volendam’s reserves, first-team manager Wim Jonk, Jasper van Leeuwen and Ruben Jongkind (the technical leadership at the then Dutch second division club) spotted a player with huge potential — who nearly left the club under the previous regime — but required refinement. One of the first things that Jongkind, who has a background in athletics, noticed was that the defender “did not move elegantly”.

“We saw this incredible talent in terms of speed, dribbling courage, tenacity in the duels and a pure winning mentality,” Jongkind, who previously worked at Ajax, tells The Athletic. “We gave him a new contract immediately and started working on his development. We put him in the second team but within a few weeks we saw he could join the first team.

“I didn’t know him as a child but he told me his growth spurt went really quickly. Players need time to grow and in football they never get it. They need several years to develop muscle on the body and for their brains to adapt to the new length and force. He never got a real individual education on how to be more agile, to cut and turn quicker and to run smoother, which meant his movement was not efficient.

“We worked on his posture and did a lot of stability and mobility work. The joints have to be able to stabilise because his power was enormous already. If the joints do not stabilise, it is dangerous in terms of injuries. When he runs, his range of motion is slightly too big to the rear and that could give too much strain on hamstrings. We reduced it dramatically but it’s an ongoing work and it never stops. I always compare it to the best sprinters in the world. They still dedicate a lot of time on drills and technical stuff and they are already incredibly quick.

“Imagine you have a Fiat and you put a Ferrari engine in it. You put the pedal to the metal and the engine would shoot out of the framework. The tendons, bones, muscles and movement patterns should be able to deal with the power (Micky) can generate.”

Van de Ven was placed on a special nutritional programme by Volendam. By cutting out sugar and consuming the right amount of carbohydrates and protein before and after training, the defender put on 10kg without losing any speed. Staff carried out a series of different exercises with him and started to see progress.

“I can change somebody’s running style in 10 minutes, but how do you maintain it?” Jongkind says. “Running is automated so you have to relearn it and with football, it is worse because your brain is occupied by a thousand other things. If the player doesn’t have the desire to do it, then there will be no connection between the brain and the body. They will do it with resistance and the change in movement efficiency will not happen.

“You always have to keep measuring them. If you see that they are getting slower, then something has gone wrong and you need to start again. (Micky) became a lot quicker over longer distances and it became easier for him to do more sprints at the same speed.

“It’s something you have to look constantly into. I don’t know what happened afterwards at Wolfsburg or Tottenham, although I know they have a world class performance staff, but sometimes when you get injured your gait changes. He is a fighter anyway. It’s important to be patient and look into all the factors. Hamstring injuries are very complex and there could be 10 factors involved.”

Dr Ben Rosenblatt is the founder of 292 Performance, which gives individualised performance support programmes to Premier League players, cricketers, boxers and even Hollywood actors. Rosenblatt spent four years working as a senior rehabilitation scientist for the British Olympic Association (BOA), was lead men’s physical performance coach for the Football Association between 2016 and 2023, and has a PhD in the biomechanics of sprinting.

Dr Rosenblatt agrees with Jongkind that an athlete’s running style can be changed in one session but they need between six to eight weeks for it to become permanent. That is a window of time that footballers are never afforded during a season.

“Every athlete has a unique way that they move and that is across jumping, kicking a ball, sprinting and landing,” Dr Rosenblatt says. “Some tasks leave an athlete more vulnerable to injury. As a performance coach, your responsibility is to identify if the way they’re moving is safe and effective or if it is putting their body under stress. Then you have to do a detailed diagnostic approach to understand why they move that way and what’s going to be helpful for them.

“I worked with one athlete who could run fast but it was giving them stress fractures in their back. They needed a stronger core, calves and hamstrings to make sure their back could handle their running style.

“The biggest risk is that you’re trying to change something which doesn’t need to be changed. I worked with a group of athletes in another sport who became faster but it did not affect their game speed. We invested a huge amount of energy and effort so you have to consider the cost benefit. Moving more efficiently is always going to be good but the amount of time, effort and energy it takes is always demanding.”

Becoming quicker is a nice bonus but Rosenblatt says that the main reason to change an athlete’s running style is to make them more resilient. This is what Spurs will be hoping happens with Van de Ven: having him fit for the first leg of their last-16 tie in the Europa League, their last hope of silverware, on March 6 would be a huge boost.

But for all the importance of having him back, Van de Ven and his club will hope that taking an extra couple of weeks to fully understand his “mechanics” will reap long-term rewards.

(Top photo: Warren Little/Getty Images)

It's a battle between two traditional heavyweights stuck in the middle of the Premier League table today as Manchester United travel to north London to play Tottenham Hotspur.

The hosts came out on top 3-0 in the league meeting between the two sides at Old Trafford in September but United have since changed manager — can Ruben Amorim get the better of Ange Postecoglou this time?

Both sides will be looking to kickstart a strong second half of the season with a landmark win.

Kick-off time: 8pm GMT, 3pm ET, 12pm PT

How to watch: Sky Sports (UK), USA Network (U.S.)

Stream on Fubo: (try for free)

Team news: Line-ups announced at 3:15pm GMT

Subscribe to The Athletic on an exclusive offer here.

Finally some good news on the injury from for Tottenham — goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is back to full fitness and available for selection after missing more than two months with an ankle injury.

The Italian, 28, fractured his ankle in the win over Manchester City on November 23 and has gone on to miss the club’s last 21 games in all competitions.

And it gets better on the injury front. James Maddison (calf) and Destiny Udogie (hamstring) could also make their returns at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Meanwhile, Brennan Johnson (calf) and Timo Werner (hamstring) are also closing in on comebacks.

Even so, defenders Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, and Radu Dragusin are all still sidelined, while forwards Dominic Solanke and Richarlison will miss today's game too.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

Boy, is it a nice one.

Most fans enjoy a trip to Spurs' plush new ground, completed in 2019, which has a capacity of 62,850.

That makes it London's third-biggest stadium and the biggest club ground in the capital — and it hosts NFL when that is in the UK too, with a nifty retractable pitch for its dual uses.

The NFL season finished on Sunday, but fear not! There is still so much to enjoy on The Athletic.

We're into the final few months of the Premier League and Champions League campaigns while the NBA play-offs are rapidly coming into focus.

We're covering all of that and so much more, so make sure to get involved.

And you're in luck — you can subscribe to The Athletic on an exclusive offer here.

We have a Sunday treat in store to round of a full weekend of football in the Premier League, with kick-off in this one at 4.30pm GMT in the UK.

That is 11.30am ET on the east coast of the U.S. and 8.30am PT on the west.

Hello! And welcome to The Athletic, where our live coverage takes us to north London and a clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

Both teams are looking to improve their league position after poor seasons and today provides the perfect opportunity to kickstart a strong end to the campaign.

The Premier League has not been kind to either Ruben Amorim or Ange Postecoglou this season with injury crises, player drama and underwhelming performances dogging both managers' sides.

We should be in store for a entertaining one if the matches between the two sides earlier this season offer any measure. Still a few hours until kick-off, but there is plenty to discuss, so stick with us!

Ruben Amorim is facing a midfield dilemma with Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte and Toby Collyer all suffering injuries in training this week.

The Manchester United head coach revealed his squad had been hit by medical issues during sessions at Carrington, and the problems are centred on his engine room.

Mainoo’s injury is expected to keep him out for more than a couple of weeks, with Ugarte and Collyer also major doubts for the trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Jack Moorhouse, 19, has been drafted in for first-team training and is set to travel to London. It would be the central midfielder’s first time in a senior squad should Amorim select him. Moorhouse, a strong ball carrier, has scored three goals in seven Premier League 2 games this season for United’s Under-21s.

Mainoo and Ugarte have been mainstays of Amorim’s side since both starred in midfield in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield, while Collyer has emerged as an important option, making two starts and four substitute appearances in recent weeks.

The loss of the trio would bring Christian Eriksen and Casemiro back into contention. The pair have played a combined 176 minutes since both starting the 2-0 home loss to Newcastle United on December 30.

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Amorim said on Friday: “(It) was a good week until two days ago, we had some problems. We don’t have players back, maybe we have one or two issues, we are waiting. We have one player who is sick, we will see on the weekend.”

The likes of Luke Shaw, Jonny Evans and Mason Mount are all working their way back to fitness after time out of the team.

Amorim was asked specifically about Chido Obi Martin, the 17-year-old who has been impressing for the club’s Under-18s side since joining from Arsenal last summer and scored a hat-trick in the FA Youth Cup on Wednesday.

“I don’t want to say names,” he said. “We have to be careful on that. We have problems this week, we called some young players to be in our training. We have some data evaluation. He is one of them.”

United came into the weekend 13th in the table having won just two of their last eight Premier League matches.

Additional reporting: Mark Critchley

(Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Djed Spence was standing in a tight corridor, surrounded by a group of journalists following Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 victory at Brentford earlier this month. The 24-year-old was clutching the player of the match award in his left hand following an assured performance on what was only his seventh Premier League start.

The right-footed full-back started on the left and nullified Bryan Mbeumo. The Brentford forward has been among the league’s most dangerous players this season, scoring 14 goals — only Chris Wood, Alexander Isak (both 17), Erling Haaland (19) and Mohamed Salah (22) have better records.

When The Athletic asked Spence how he is so comfortable attacking and defending on both flanks, he shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know,” he laughed. “I just believe in my abilities and I’m a confident player. Whether I’m playing off the left or right, I just try to do my best.”

Spence’s laid-back demeanour is at odds with his exceptional talent. He snaps into challenges on opposition forwards before gracefully gliding past their own tackles.

“(Djed) was excellent again today,” team-mate Ben Davies said in that same corridor. “He was up against an in-form winger (Mbeumo) and was so solid defensively. He’s so physical and quick. Sometimes you take it for granted the space he leaves behind but he gets back for it. He makes sure when he’s on the pitch he plays to his strengths and doesn’t have to try and do too much.”

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou went a step further by describing him as “outstanding” and praising how he “loves the challenge of taking on the elite wingers in the Premier League”.

All of this underlines why it was so bizarre that Spence had to wait for 881 days after joining Spurs from Middlesbrough in July 2022 to make his first start for them. He set up James Maddison within the opening minute of that 5-0 victory over Southampton on December 15. Since then, he has become an integral part of Postecoglou’s plans and has started 11 of the last 14 games he has been eligible for.

When left-back Destiny Udogie returns from his hamstring injury, Spence will have a strong case to start stay in the team either on the left of defence ahead of the Italian, or in place of Pedro Porro on the right. It is a scenario which would have been unthinkable this time a year ago when Spence was on loan with Italian side Genoa following an unsuccessful six-month spell with Leeds United.

This is how Spence resurrected his career with Spurs.

It is impossible to talk about Spence’s time at Spurs without mentioning Antonio Conte.

Spence thrived on loan under Steve Cooper at Nottingham Forest during the 2021-22 season after falling out with Middlesbrough’s then head coach Neil Warnock. He started 38 games in the Championship for Forest, as well as all three of their play-off matches as they secured promotion. Spurs snapped up Spence but within a couple of weeks Conte made his feelings about the move clear.

“Spence is an investment of the club,” he said. “The club wanted to do it. I said, ‘OK, this player is young but he showed he can become a good, important player for us’. The club decided to buy him.”

Being labelled a ‘club signing’ was not an ideal start for Spence and he only made six appearances under Conte during the first half of the 2022-23 campaign, all of them as a substitute, before joining French side Rennes on loan in January 2023.

In an interview with The Athletic last March, Spence reflected on his difficult debut season. “I didn’t have a great time,” he said. “I went there and I didn’t play, so obviously it was hard for me. When you sign somewhere as a player for a big club, you want to be filled with confidence and welcomed with open arms, as I was, but it just didn’t feel right when I went there. Things didn’t go as well as I planned.

“When you don’t get a chance, there’s not much you can do as a player. You get lost, you’re not playing, it’s hard to get a rhythm again. It’s never easy going to a new environment when things don’t go well but it’s part of the game. It’s a learning experience.”

Spence returned to Spurs in the summer of 2023 and there was a new head coach in charge. Postecoglou was transforming the squad and he let Spence move to Leeds on loan.

The defender endured a difficult time at Elland Road. He missed nearly three months of action after damaging his knee ligaments in training while head coach Daniel Farke became frustrated with his time-keeping. The loan was cancelled early and Spence joined Genoa in January 2024 as part of the deal which brought Radu Dragusin to Spurs. He made 16 appearances in Serie A, predominantly at right wing-back in a 3-5-2 system, as Genoa finished 11th.

Sources close to Spence, who asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships, have described him as an introvert. He is loud and demanding on the pitch but can be quiet in the dressing room. The defender is aloof and sometimes this has been misinterpreted as him not caring.

Spence benefitted from his six-month spell in Italy. It was the second time in his career that he moved to a different country and was forced to come out of his shell to interact with team-mates and coaches. He played at the San Siro twice, including completing 90 minutes in a 3-3 draw with Milan, and impressed in a goalless draw at Juventus. After having his confidence knocked by Leeds, it was a reminder of his quality and what could be achieved if he stayed focused.

Genoa had the option to sign Spence permanently for £8.5m but he returned to Spurs in the summer. The defender’s future was uncertain but he was determined to earn another chance in north London.

Spence made a surprise appearance in a pre-season friendly against Hearts and assisted Will Lankshear in a 5-1 victory. The defender was playing out of necessity though as several key first-team players, including Udogie, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, were either still on international duty or enjoying extended holidays. The first genuine sign that Spence might stay with Spurs came when they visited Japan and South Korea in July. He was included in the travelling party while other fringe players, including Sergio Reguilon and Bryan Gil, were left behind to try to facilitate transfers.

Spence featured in all three of their games on tour and Postecoglou said he had “really impressed” all of the coaching staff. “I think he’s been very, very good for us this pre-season, in terms of the way he’s trained and his general attitude,” Postecoglou said. “I think there’s an opportunity for him here, for sure. Thinking about building a squad, he would definitely be somebody who could (contribute) with the attributes he has.

“A lot of these things are in the players’ hands themselves. They decide their own future in many respects and I think Djed’s in that boat. Maybe he’s learned a couple of things over the last couple of years about himself and hopefully we can sort of bear the fruit of that. He’s a very good player who fits into our football and so it’s as much about him as it is about me making a decision.”

The amount of disruption Spence has faced in his short career should not be ignored. This is the first time since the 2020-21 campaign that he will spend the entire season at the same team. Bouncing around clubs, working under different coaches and with a rotating cast of team-mates would impact any player’s development.

Spence thrived under Cooper at Forest because he knew how to interact with and cajole young players due to his experience of working with England’s youth-team groups and in Liverpool’s academy. He has a great relationship with Udogie as they both share similar tastes in music and fashion. They attended a concert together by the Nigerian artist Asake at the O2 Arena last year while Spence forged a strong bond with Brennan Johnson when they previously played together at Forest. Spence is surrounded by familiar faces at Spurs who understand his quirks.

Spence featured off the bench in Tottenham’s opening two league games and everything seemed to be heading in the right direction until he was left out of their Europa League squad. Last week, he was included in their squad for the knockout stages of the competition.

A week after suffering that blow, Spence saved Spurs from an embarrassing exit in the third round of the Carabao Cup. The former England Under-21 international was a half-time substitute and he went on a marauding run in the 88th minute before poking the ball over Coventry City’s goalkeeper Ben Wilson to equalise. Johnson scored the winner a few minutes later. Spence played the entire second half of September’s 3-0 victory over Manchester United and was rewarded with a new contract until 2028.

“With Djed, it could have been easy for him to go out on loan again,” Postecoglou said after the deal was announced. “But when he came into pre-season, he was determined to make a career for himself here at Tottenham rather than wait to be loaned out. He did everything right in training, his attitude was great. He’s a good footballer, I think the way we play suits him and he’s knuckled down to that. And he’s earned himself a spot on the roster in our squad. The rest is up to him again. Because it’s an easy decision for me to make when I see that. Like I said, sometimes footballers think their fate is in other peoples’ hands. For the most part, it’s in their own.”

However, that turned out to be his last appearance for two-and-a-half months apart from a brief cameo against Manchester City which only lasted a couple of minutes. Spence picked up a groin injury in training and was stuck on the bench when he returned. In December, Postecoglou threw doubt over Spence’s chances of regular playing time.

“I think a major turnaround is Djed playing regularly at this level, just because he has hung around doesn’t mean that is a major turnaround,” he said. “I still think a lot of that is Djed continuing to train hard and wait for his opportunity.”

That opportunity came within a couple of weeks and he has not looked back. Spence has been excellent going forward, he registered an assist in the 4-3 victory over Manchester United in December, and shackled Salah superbly in Tottenham’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

Spence is no longer an outcast, patiently waiting for a genuine opportunity to impress. The table below shows that he has been Tottenham’s standout full-back this season across a number of metrics. Spence offers Postecoglou something different to Udogie and Porro which is reflected by the number of take-ons he attempts (4.7) per 90. Spence likes to drive with the ball into central areas and draw defenders towards him before sliding the ball into the space they have vacated. Spence’s assist for Maddison against Southampton is the perfect example of this. Porro’s biggest strength is the quality of his crossing and set-piece delivery while Udogie excels at underlapping Son Heung-min on the left wing.

In the sequence below, Spence has the confidence to drive in between Mikkel Damsgaard and Christian Norgaard before charging into a huge pocket of space in front of Brentford’s defence. Spence passes the ball to Dejan Kulusevski and then makes a selfless run which drags Keane Lewis-Potter out of position. A tiny gap opened up for Kulusevski to shoot through and Richarlison just missed it at the back post.

Spence is intelligent and skilful as this no-look pass around Kevin Schade in the same game shows. When Schade tackles Richarlison in the box, Spence wins the ball back within six seconds.

If there is one main criticism of Spence it would be that he is too elaborate in possession at times. In last month’s north London derby, he tried to squeeze past two Arsenal players on the edge of his own box when the smarter option would have been to pass to Archie Gray. Unsurprisingly, Spence lost the ball and Gabriel Martinelli found Jurrien Timber who whipped a cross into the box.

Spence rarely touches the ball with his left foot and prefers to pass or cross with the outside of his right boot. In the scenario above, he actually awkwardly spins onto his right foot. This over reliance makes him predictable and he needs to be aware of other teams identifying this weakness.

Both of Spence’s parents are from Jamaica and he regularly travels there on holiday. They hail from Saint Mary’s parish, located on the north-east coast of the Caribbean island. Some of the scenes from the first James Bond film, Dr No, were filmed on Saint Mary’s idyllic beaches.

Spence grew up in south London with his two sisters, Bria and Karla-Simone who appeared as the titular role in the television series the Confessions of Frannie Langton and in the 2019 film Blue Story. He is eligible to represent England and made multiple appearances for the Under-21s.

Many of Spence’s peers from that group, including Emile Smith Rowe, Anthony Gordon, Morgan Gibbs-White and Cole Palmer, have been capped at senior level. Smith Rowe and Spence played for the same team, Junior Elite, when they were kids.

Spence admitted after Tottenham beat Brentford that playing for England is “definitely one of my goals I want to achieve”. If he continues to impress for Spurs, then surely Thomas Tuchel will consider calling him up. It would represent the latest remarkable turnaround in Spence’s career.

Additional reporting: Conor O’Neill

(Top photo: James Gill/Getty Images)

If there is any good news for Tottenham Hotspur to take from the past few days, it is that they have fought their way through the dense fixture thicket and finally emerged blinking into the light.

For three months now, Spurs have been stumbling from game to game, forced to go again, and go again, and go again, and go again, with a pool of first-team players that has only grown smaller and smaller. At times, it has felt like watching a dystopian game show, where the initial cast has been steadily cut down one by one, leaving only a small group of resourceful survivors by the end.

It has been a test of endurance and stamina, to put it mildly.

The non-injured players have arrived at every game more tired than they were for the previous one. Like the final rounds of a bleep test, the longer this period has gone on, the more physically challenging this has been for those players who are still able to compete.

Anyone who has watched Tottenham in the past few months has seen the energy levels of the players drop from week to week. Not because they have given up or have mentally checked out, but because they simply have nothing left in the tank.

The week just gone was the fifth in a row, and the 10th out of 11, where Spurs had a midweek game. It has been a hectic period of 22 games in 79 days.

It was the biggest week in their season: first a Carabao Cup semi-final second leg, where they just had to successfully defend a 1-0 lead to reach Wembley. And then an FA Cup fourth-round game, at a ground where they won 4-0 less than a year ago. Here were two big opportunities for Spurs to grasp with both hands. And they were a disaster.

Spurs brought nothing at all to Anfield on Thursday, and lost 4-0 to Liverpool without ever making an impression on the game. Then, on Sunday, they were outplayed by Aston Villa, beaten 2-1 and knocked out of the other domestic cup.

It made for an immensely painful four days.

All season, the FA and Carabao Cups had acted as an insurance policy for Tottenham, a safety net, a dream in the distance that made their poor league form more palatable. Because who would care whether Spurs were fifth, 10th or 15th in the table if they were back at Wembley in the spring? The players were wholly focused on finally ending the club’s 17-year trophy drought. They were saving their best performances for the cups. The dream of a season-saving vindication was always within reach.

Until last week, when those dreams — or two out of three of them — faded into oblivion.

So it is with much less to play for that Tottenham have finally reached the safety of this fixture-free week, something they have only had one of since the November international break. But they do at least have space for a deep breath and a reset.

Players who have given so much in recent months can finally be given some time off. Dejan Kulusevski has played in all 39 of Spurs’ games this season. Pape Matar Sarr in 37. Pedro Porro in 35. Those three players, who have largely avoided serious injury this season, are the ones who have given the most, and who have seen the quality of their own performances diminish in recent months.

Then there is the prospect of players finally coming back from injury — characters from the start of the season rejoining the main group in their hour of need.

Of course, some of this has already started to happen. Mikey Moore has started three of the past four matches. Richarlison came back from a spell on the sidelines, started five games in a row, then picked up another injury. Micky van de Ven returned to play 45 minutes against Elfsborg on January 30 having been out since early December but has not been involved since.

But there are more to come.

In head coach Ange Postecoglou’s pre-Villa press conference on Friday, he mentioned Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, Wilson Odobert, James Maddison and Brennan Johnson “at a stretch” as being “definitely close” and targeting returns to training either this week, or next.

The club have been cautious with their comebacks but if a few of those players can face visitors Manchester United on Sunday, Tottenham will look a different team. And by the time they go to Ipswich Town the following Saturday, they could look very different.

Of course, plenty of Spurs fans will be all out of optimism that this season is about to turn around. They may have learnt not to place too much faith in returning players. They will remember how Van de Ven, Maddison and Cristian Romero missed the middle section of last season and that everyone hoped the team would get back to their best when they came back. And it did not happen that way.

It will feel to many as if the timing has not quite lined up.

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If the now-returning players had come back a month or so ago, they maybe could have kept Spurs in the cups, or prevented the team’s core players from running themselves into the ground.

Perhaps this leads us to February’s biggest question: has the arrival of reinforcements, via the transfer window and from the treatment room, come too late to save this season, and to save the whole Postecoglou project? Is the current Tottenham team so run down and so low on confidence that they are beyond rescuing? Is the rest of this season now about going through the motions before a major rethink in the summer?

Or is there still enough in the tank that with a few key additions, a bit of rest, a bit of a reset, they can start moving in the right direction again? Because this season is not over, even if it feels that way right now.

There is still a perilously narrow path left for Spurs to cling to, heading towards the Europa League final in the Spanish city of Bilbao on May 21. As remote as that might sound after the last week.

(Top photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Ange Postecoglou buried his head in his hands for a few seconds in utter disbelief at the question he had just been asked. The 59-year-old’s eyes then blazed with fury as he staunchly defended Tottenham Hotspur’s players at the end of a bruising week that saw them eliminated from two cup competitions.

“I don’t know how else to explain it if you can’t see that this team is just trying to play its hardest in the most extreme of circumstances,” he said.

“Two and a half months of asking 18-year-olds and 17-year-olds and senior players, with no rest, to play Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday. I’ll keep going for two and a half months and if you think that is not at all a factor of how this team is performing then there’s nothing else I can say.”

Spurs have won two of their last 12 fixtures in the Premier League. They are closer to the relegation zone than the top four, which is why the cups have become so important to them as Postecoglou famously “always wins a trophy” during his second season at a club.

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The Briefing: Aston Villa 2 Tottenham 1 - Rashford debut, passive Spurs, Villa injury worries

They wasted a great opportunity to reach the Carabao Cup final by meekly surrendering to Liverpool on Thursday and never recovered from Jacob Ramsey’s early goal for Aston Villa. Their only chance of silverware now lies in the Europa League. Postecoglou was unhappy with the suggestion that his team had lost their identity and cannot function in his preferred style.

“No, because they’re tired, mate,” he fired back. “Do you think they can press like (we would want)? If we hadn’t played Thursday night and I hadn’t rotated that team we wouldn’t have been pressing aggressively today? Fair chance, unless you don’t think they’re human beings. Unless you’re superhuman and you think, ‘No, after playing Liverpool on Thursday night they should be flying tonight’. It doesn’t happen. They’re human beings. Why do you think Liverpool and others rotate 11 players? Why? There’s a reason and I wish I could do the same — so you can bring a freshness to the team.

“They’re not playing anywhere near the levels that we want or expect, but that’s not because they’re not trying. It’s because they can’t. This group of players, once we get the rest of the group in, will be an outstanding team. I have no doubt about that. Whether other people can’t see that, that’s of no interest to me. If you want to measure anything on what they’re doing at the moment, other than the extreme situation they’re dealing with, then your analysis is skewed and it’s not objective. That’s my opinion.”

Postecoglou makes a few fair points. Tottenham have had to cope without their first-choice goalkeeper, left-back, centre-backs, playmaker and striker over the last couple of months. There is a huge burden on some of the younger players, including Archie Gray (18), Lucas Bergvall (19), Mikey Moore (17) and now new signing Mathys Tel (19), which is starting to take its toll.

The problem of tiredness is not an adequate explanation for how Villa cut through Spurs so easily out wide and scored in the first minute. Or why there was a huge pocket of space behind their midfield that Ramsey, Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans kept gleefully running through. There was one moment in the first half when Tielemans picked up the ball and ran 60 yards with it before shooting from the edge of the box. It was similar to Bilal El Khannouss’ strike during Leicester City’s 2-1 win against them in January. Lessons are not being learned.

There were multiple occasions on Sunday when Gray and Kevin Danso were pressured by Rogers and Donyell Malen into awkwardly turning around and passing the ball backwards. When goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky received the ball, he would hit it long towards Son Heung-min. It is a tactic they used with limited success in the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool and nothing has improved. They were just returning possession to their hosts.

The starting XI against Villa contained a lot of technical quality across the defence and midfield including Gray, Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur and Djed Spence. However, they seemed incapable of stringing a series of passes together to draw Villa in and then move the ball around them. There was no conviction in what Tottenham were trying to do and that stems from a lack of confidence.

In the 17th minute, Kinksy passed the ball to a retreating Bentancur, who chipped it over Malen for Danso. It was an extremely risky manoeuvre that put his team-mate in an awkward position with a bouncing ball in a tight area and, unsurprisingly, Danso hooked it out for a throw-in. This team used to be brave in possession but now they look hesitant and jittery, which is understandable when you consider all of the hits they have received this season.

The other issue Postecoglou needs to address is the rising frustration within the squad. Spence ripped off his sock tape, threw it on the ground and headed straight down the tunnel with Yves Bissouma at full time. Pedro Porro jumped up after being nutmegged and left in a heap on the floor by Marcus Rashford. He then brought Villa’s new striker down with a wild kick on the edge of the box and somehow escaped punishment. The Spain international received a yellow card in the final 10 minutes for a tackle on Ramsey.

Bentancur was booked for dragging down Rogers. Bergvall jumped into a tackle on Rogers and then clattered into him later on. He eventually picked up a booking for a foul on Ramsey, too. These are the moments when Postecoglou needs his senior players, including the captain Son and Dejan Kulusevski, to calm everyone down.

Will Postecoglou be given the time to fix these issues? Goodwill is running low because of the limp manner in which they threw away two chances of silverware. The cup competitions were a distraction from their woeful league form, which will now come under a harsher spotlight.

Tottenham only play twice in the next fortnight because they finished in the top eight of the Europa League’s league phase. This has to be the moment they reset their season and rediscover the spark missing from their last two performances.

This could have been the week when Tottenham turned their season around. Instead, we might look back on these few days as the period when everything truly spun out of control.

(Top photo: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

Aston Villa reached the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 10 years, inflicting defeat on a Tottenham Hotspur side knocked out of a cup competition for the second time in three days.

Elimination from the Carabao Cup on Thursday after a heavy loss to Liverpool in the semi-final second leg was followed by defeat at Villa Park on Sunday, leaving Tottenham with just the Europa League to aim for this season.

Villa scored after 59 seconds as a goalkeeping error presented the hosts with a perfect start. Fine play by Morgan Rogers in the middle of the pitch set up Jacob Ramsey, whose harmless-looking shot went through the hands of Antonin Kinsky.

The Spurs goalkeeper made a series of fine saves to deny Villa further goals in the first half but could do little to prevent the influential Rogers from scoring his 11th goal of the season with a tap-in. Nineteen-year-old Mathys Tel halved the deficit, but it was too little too late to turn around Spurs’ fortunes.

Our writers Jacob Tanswell and Jay Harris break down the key talking points.

A warm welcome for Rashford

There was tangible excitement around Villa Park for Marcus Rashford’s debut, with the England international receiving the loudest cheers when he headed down the tunnel before kick-off and then once he ran out onto the touchline for his warm-up as a substitute.

The 27-year-old was sharp in his movement, winning his first duel against Kevin Danso seconds after coming on. As Unai Emery wants from his forwards, Rashford dragged Danso into deep areas — including a smart first-time pass that set Rogers free for a Ramsey chance — before threatening in behind with his pace.

On paper, Rashford played up front but Emery wanted him in positions he previously thrived in at Manchester United, with the plan of playing as an inside forward appearing to be formed on Sunday evening.

It was a promising debut, along with Marco Asensio, Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia, who immediately settled in Emery’s system.

Jacob Tanswell

A defeat that sums up Tottenham’s season

This result leaves Ange Postecoglou in a perilous position. This always felt like a season-defining week for Spurs and they have failed their tests in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.

The performances are the biggest concern. Tottenham did not register a single shot on target in Thursday’s 4-0 defeat to Liverpool and never looked convincing going forward against Aston Villa, although they did test Emiliano Martinez on a couple of occasions. Son Heung-min wasted a great chance in the first half.

From a team that was cavalier in its attitude, playing forward passes quickly and aggressively, Spurs now looked scared to take risks. There were too many occasions when Malen and Rogers pressured Danso and Archie Gray into playing backwards.

Spurs seem to be kicking the ball longer than ever before, a tactic that did not work when Richarlison, a natural centre-forward, was trying to reach Kinsky’s passes against Liverpool and it was even less successful with Son failing to get anywhere near Villa’s makeshift centre-backs.

Dejan Kulusevski, Tottenham’s best player before Christmas, has run out of gas. Danso has been parachuted in from Lens to perform a rescue act. Lucas Bergvall is running around clattering into challenges and trying to create chances on the ball with little reward. They are a team devoid of confidence and momentum.

Pedro Porro jumped back up and kicked Rashford after Villa’s forward nutmegged him, while Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur were booked for rash challenges. That all hints at a loss of discipline as frustrations grow.

Spurs’ wretched position in the Premier League means their hopes for a successful season rest on winning the Europa League, but it remains to be seen if Postecoglou will be in charge for their round-of-16 tie next month.

Jay Harris

Centre-back problems for Villa

Villa’s central defence has been an issue for Emery over the winter and even with the deadline-day arrival of Axel Disasi on loan from Chelsea, Villa have remained short in the position. Pau Torres is still a few weeks away from returning from a broken metatarsal, Tyrone Mings’ knee injury requires patience and Diego Carlos left for Fenerbahce in January.

With Disasi cup-tied, Boubacar Kamara, Villa’s best midfielder, partnered Ezri Konsa in the back line against Tottenham.

In the 27th minute, it became even clearer how much of a problem this position is for Villa, with Konsa pulling up after racing back towards his goal after Son had forced an excellent save from Martinez. Konsa headed straight down the tunnel, which is never a good sign, and seemed concerned.

Lamare Bogarde, preferably a central midfielder or a right-back, replaced the England international. Bogarde’s versatility has become important in recent months and with Emery having no available recognised centre-back, he deputised against Tottenham.

Bogarde, 21, was composed on the ball, despite Tottenham’s press, and was aggressive in his marking of Son. Even on the odd occasion he overcommitted, he recovered well, as illustrated by the sliding block he made at the start of the second half to stop Son’s shot.

Jacob Tanswell

How did Tel perform on his debut?

Injuries to Richarlison and Dominic Solanke mean that Tel has been fast-tracked into Tottenham’s starting XI after he joined them at the end of the transfer window on loan from Bayern Munich with an option to buy.

Tel made a cameo against Liverpool on Thursday, but it is hard to fairly assess that performance considering his direct opponents were Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, a formidable and established centre-back duo.

Everybody assumed Tel would play centrally against Villa but Son occupied that role, leaving the left-wing slot free for the 19-year-old.

Tel showed a few glimpses of his talent. There were body feints, ball rolls and other tricks he deployed with mixed results. There was an encouraging one-two with Son but then his weak, deflected cross did not cause any problems.

You have to admire Tel’s self-belief. He constantly demanded the ball from Djed Spence or Gray despite the testing circumstances. The France Under-21 international has a great reputation but he needs time to fully adapt to English football and a completely new environment.

There were multiple occasions when he tried to spin past Leon Bailey out wide but was shrugged off the ball. In the build-up to Rogers’ goal, Tel mishit a pass that went straight to Villa’s centre-back Bogarde and allowed them to quickly counter. Another stray pass led to a goalscoring opportunity for Ramsey.

Tel moved centrally towards the end of the game and was rewarded with a goal. A sharp piece of movement helped him ghost past Villa’s defenders at the back post before he poked Kulusevski’s cross into the bottom corner. Spurs left their comeback too late, though.

Tel emerges with some credit, but it feels unfair to expect him to be the saviour of a team in dire need of help.

Jay Harris

What did Unai Emery say?

Asked about new signings after the game, Emery said: “First, Lamare Bogarde played again and showed consistency when we needed him. He helped us. Andres Garcia and Malen played in our idea and with Rashford and Asensio, we saw their skill and how they will help us.

On Konsa, the Villa manager added that “hopefully, it is not a big injury”.

Emery was keen to praise Ramsey and Rogers, too, saying: “Ramsey is getting better. He will need to be consistent, playing without injuries and getting physically better. He is a very good player and very committed to Aston Villa. I am very demanding with him.

“With Morgan, he is performing fantastically, always doing his tasks. He is making our identity stronger with his skill and versatility in the attacking third. So (I tell him), ‘Keep going, don’t stop’.”

What did Ange Postecoglou say?

We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.

What next for Aston Villa?

Saturday, February 15: Ipswich Town (Home), Premier League, 3pm GMT, 10am ET

What next for Tottenham?

Sunday, February 16: Manchester United (Home), Premier League, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am ET

Recommended reading

Aston Villa’s transfer window: Emery’s Rashford wish, Disasi beats deadline, Duran’s exit

Tottenham’s transfer window reviewed: A whirlwind ending solves a few problems

Analysis: Mathys Tel is a shots machine with plenty of raw edges to iron out

Unai Emery is an expert at rejuvenating footballers’ careers – can he do it with Marcus Rashford?

(Top Photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Two of Tottenham Hotspur’s new signings have been added to their Europa League squad but goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky has been left out.

Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso, signed on loan from Bayern Munich and Lens respectively, have been added alongside Djed Spence, who was excluded from the squad at the start of the competition.

Radu Dragusin has been de-selected after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in Spurs’ final league-phase game against Elfsborg on January 30. Fraser Forster and Timo Werner have also been dropped to make space for the three new additions.

UEFA rules state that teams can make only three changes to the squad between the league phase and knockout stage.

The new Europa League format means that there are two league-phase games during the winter transfer window, which meant that Kinsky could not feature for Spurs against Hoffenheim or Elfsborg, despite joining the club on January 5.

The rules caused Tottenham issues with naming their squad earlier this season. Teams can register up to 25 players, eight of which must be “locally trained”, i.e. in England. Four of those must be “club-trained,” meaning a player that has been registered at their current team for three consecutive seasons between the ages of 15 and 21.

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Teams are still allowed to play in the competition without hitting this target, but the squad size is reduced by the amount that a club misses the quota.

After the sale of Oliver Skipp in the summer, backup goalkeepers Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman were the only two club-trained players in the squad, meaning that Spurs could only register a maximum of 23 players for European competition.

This saw Spence and Sergio Reguilon miss out in the league phase and means that Austin and Whiteman have become essential when it comes to naming a squad. Reguilon has again been left out for the knockout phase.

Academy graduate Mikey Moore is eligible for the “B List” due to his age and time spent at the club, so he does not need to be registered in the 23-man group. This is also the case for other younger players like Dane Scarlett and Damola Ajayi, who both scored against Elfsborg.

Spence started the season firmly on the fringes of the Tottenham squad. He spent the first half of the 2023-24 season on loan at Leeds United in the Championship but was sent back to Spurs in the January window, before joining Genoa on loan for the rest of the campaign. The Serie A club had an option to buy Spence permanently in the agreement but did not exercise it.

He remained at the club over the summer after impressing in pre-season and scored his first Spurs goal on September 18 against Coventry City in the Carabao Cup. Spence made his first Tottenham start on December 15 — almost two and a half years after signing — and has become a regular in the team since then, providing cover for the injured Destiny Udogie. He has made 16 appearances in all competitions this season.

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Tel joined the club on deadline day from Bundesliga side Bayern Munich, initially on loan though Spurs have an option to buy him in the summer for €55million (£45.7m; $56.9m).

The 19-year-old has scored 16 goals and provided seven assists in 83 appearances for Bayern and became the team’s youngest-ever goalscorer aged 17 in August 2022, breaking the record previously held by Jamal Musiala.

Danso signed for Tottenham on February 2 on loan with an obligation to make the move permanent in the summer. The Austrian had looked all set for Wolverhampton Wanderers and even had a medical booked with the club before pulling out of the move. Danso, 26, is expected to receive considerable game time with Dragusin and Cristian Romero out injured.

Analysis

After the January transfer window was over, Tottenham had a decision to make: how to tweak their squad for the second half of their Europa League campaign?

The most interesting addition — but perhaps also the most obvious one — was Djed Spence. He was not part of the squad for the League Phase, but over the course of the season he has become increasingly important to Postecoglou. Since starting his first ever Spurs game on 15 December, he has started 10 out of Spurs’ last 13 domestic games, generally at left-back, occasionally at right-back. He has looked remarkably comfortable with everything he has to deal with, and it has felt bizarre that he was left out in Europe. Spence’s return to the European group gives them another important option from March onwards.

The next player in Kevin Danso, the summer signing from Lens who made his debut at Anfield on Thursday night. He was probably an automatic choice too given Spurs’ injury problems. They only have three specialist centre-backs, and all three of them are currently injured. Radu Dragusin injured his ACL last week and is due to have an operation. He is out for the season and has been taken out of the Europa League squad. Cristian Romero is making slow progress from a quad injury, Micky van de Ven came back last week from his hamstring injury but is not being rushed. So Danso has to be an option.

Then there is Mathys Tel, the young forward signed on loan from Bayern Munich. Given the injury problems across Spurs’ frontline they will need Tel’s energy from here. He has effectively replaced Timo Werner, who has been removed from the squad, having struggled to make an impact this season.

This also means that Antonin Kinsky will not be added to the squad, even though he has started well since joining from Slavia Prague at the start of the window. But with Guglielmo Vicario set to return from injury this month, and Brandon Austin having done well in in their last two games, Spurs have a clear first and second choice in Europe for the rest of their campaign. Fraser Forster, who has fallen behind Austin and is out of contract at the end of the season, has also been removed.

(Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Liverpool are looking to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur.

Dominik Szoboszlai had a 30th-minute opener immediately disallowed for offside as the hosts have enjoyed the lion's share of the first-half possession.

The winner of this semi-final will face Newcastle United at Wembley on March 16.

How to watch: ITV, Sky Sports (UK), Paramount+ (U.S.)

Subscribe to The Athletic on an exclusive offer here.

Nearly half an hour gone in a first half that has largely zipped by, despite the lack of goalmouth action.

Just as I say that... Gakpo twists and turns down the left flank despite being double marked and stands up a cross to the back post.

Nunez rises high and gets decent contact but it loops into Kinsky's gloves.

Now...

Huge difference between the two teams at attacking corners.

Liverpool, so strong in defence, especially with the assistance of Darwin Nunez in there at the near post, and always a threat on the counter-attack.

Tottenham are very nervy and offering nothing on the break.

Liverpool actually look at their most dangerous on the transition today.

Spurs, meanwhile, have fallen into the trap of passing backwards on the rare occasions they regain the ball and that results in Kinsky hitting it long where Virgil van Dijk inevitably wins the header.

They need to find a way of progressing the ball up the pitch.

Liverpool break via a corner, Salah dropping it off nicely to Nunez after committing Sarr, and the home side charge forward with numbers.

But Spurs win the ball, and Djed Spence dribbles out coolly past two players and Spurs counter the counter.

It's Liverpool's turn to look a little ragged!

Liverpool dominating possession but not doing much with it so far.

Darwin Nunez has made a couple of great runs which haven't been spotted by team-mates.

The switch out to Cody Gakpo on the left proving a regular tactic so far.

Bradley bundled into by Sarr, and Spurs nod the free kick away.

An interesting sight with the hosts in possession was Richarlison being told by Sarr to track defensive midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, illustrating how deep and narrow Spurs are defending.

Normally Richarlison would be marking a centre-back, but the visitors are seemingly fine to let Konate and Van Dijk have the ball in unthreatening positions, even in the opposition half.

Only when they spot an opportunity are they pushing higher up. More dogged defending as Gray nods away a cross with Robertson lurking, then Danso and Davies block shots in succession.

Uncharacteristically stout from Ange's side so far amid nearly three-quarters of possession for Liverpool.

Richarlison, not long back from injury, is making a nuisance of himself, and wins a free kick after being fouled.

It's swung in, bobbles off Bradley and Konate, out for a Spurs corner.

Son to take after moving the fuzzy TV microphone out of the way... Liverpool clear and Spurs recycle poorly.

Kelleher starts the counter quickly, with Spurs in disarray, but Liverpool pull back and fall into their possession patterns.

Call me old-fashioned (or just someone who plays in defence for a Sunday league team) but it gives me a great amount of pleasure to see a Premier League player properly stick their foot through a clearance.

Tottenham made a bit of a mess of that corner from Liverpool and now Ben Davies needs treatment for a clash of heads with 'keeper Kinsky.

Luckily Bissouma was on hand to 'hoof it' upfield — which is a phrase that a fair few top-flight players appeared not to know about when asked in a recent social media video for the Premier League.

So: more hoofing it under pressure please, lads.

Conor Bradley wins the corner off a sliding Ben Davies, and it's flung in. Flicked on by Robertson, Davies is trying to shrug Konate away at the back post as Kinsky comes to collect... but the Czech fumbles it!

The goalkeeper went down holding his face, got up again realising the danger, Spurs cleared, then Kinsky went down again. Seemed like it wasn't a foul and he just flapped at it, mostly missing the ball.

He did collide with Davies on the follow-through, though, with the defender off the pitch and changing his shirt due to a cut dripping a bit of blood down his face.

Liverpool fans are booing. Not sure why!

Spurs are defending determinedly, if not always with the patience and positioning they need.

Kulusevski bit in on Van Dijk needlessly, and the home captain easily played it around him to Robertson, who set off scampering down the left touchline. Into Gakpo, who allowed the ball across his body.

Too easy to turn past Bissouma, who needed to get goal-side, and Liverpool were on the attack, but Bentancur and Danso teamed up to messily get it away.

Richarlison did not like that challenge on him by Virgil van Dijk and I can see why — there was a high elbow there, albeit in a fast-moving interaction.

There was a bit of afters too, which could make for a spicy match-up between the opposing players as this one continues.

Mo Salah vs Djed Spence also looks like a key battle to watch early on.

Liverpool burst forward and test the Spurs goalkeeper for the first time.

Szoboszlai suddenly has time and space in the box and should get his shot away sooner, but Yves Bissouma crowds him out. Bissouma making the tackle by turning his back, though, allows the rebound... and Kinsky pouches the deflected shot easily.

In the next phase, Son nudged Szoboszlai (fairly) inside the box, leading to howls of protest from the home fans, but nothing doing, then Richarlison wins the foul from Van Dijk. They slap hands in recognition. Made up from a few minutes ago then!

In Richarlison falling over, though, he fell into Nunez, who got a painful, if accidental, blow. He walks off for some treatment but should be fine.

Richarlison is down and that isn't popular with the Liverpool fans, especially considering Richarlison is once of their fierce rivals Everton and is a two-time scorer at this ground.

And replays show Virgil van Dijk is lucky not to be booked, for my money, at the very least. The pair are side-to-side, tussling for the ball, and Van Dijk, pumped up in the first few minutes, nibbles.

The Dutchman looks sideways to see where his opponent is then flashes his arm sideways, catching Richarlison painfully in the face, elbow to nose. You can bet that stung.

Richarlison gets up and gives Van Dijk a barge, too, for good measure. VAR checks it and clears it. To me, it's naughty and Van Dijk knew what he was doing. It should be a yellow card...

It's a pretty manic pace being set already inside the first minute.

Spurs knocked it back to Kevin Danso, who dug out a well-aimed crossfield pass under pressure from Darwin Nunez, with both sets of players aiming to zip it about quickly.

Lots of collisions, and a pumping atmosphere so far at Anfield. What's not to love?

With the players in the tunnel, Tottenham debutant Kevin Danso says 'Come on lads, let's go', perhaps to psyche himself up as much as his team-mates.

Training jackets on.

They'll be walking out momentarily... and here they come!