Tottenham Hotspur meet Liverpool in the first leg of their semi-final in 2024-25 Carabao Cup.
Victory will put the tie in either Tottenham or Liverpool’s hands ahead of the return leg at Anfield on 6 February.
Team News
Radu Dragusin is a doubt for Tottenham after he was substituted at half-time in their Premier League loss to Newcastle, having ran out of energy due to having suffered from illness last week.
Fraser Forster and Mikey Moore are doubts due to illness which forced them to miss the defeat to Newcastle.
Guglielmo Vicario (ankle), Mickey van de Ven (leg), Cristian Romero (quad), Destiny Udogie, Ben Davies, Wilson Odobert and Richarlison (all hamstring) are sidelined.
James Maddison is suspended for this leg after he picked up his second booking in this season’s competition during a dramatic Quarter-Final win over Manchester United.
Liverpool could welcome Dominik Szoboszlai back after he missed their 2-2 draw against Man Utd in the league, due to illness.
Joe Gomez is ruled out with a hamstring injury.
When is Kick-Off?
Tottenham host Liverpool at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday 8 January at 8pm GMT, exclusively live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Tottenham have won three of their last five Carabao Cup ties against Liverpool (W3, L2).
- Liverpool have won one of four previous trips to Tottenham in this competition (W1, L3), albeit on penalties after a 1-1 draw in December 2004.
- Tottenham have kept one clean sheet in four Carabao Cup matches at home to Liverpool.
- Spurs haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last eight Carabao Cup ties (W4, D1, L3).
- Four of Liverpool’s ten goals in this season’s competition were scored by Cody Gakpo.
Prediction
Although they suffered defeat against Newcastle amidst injuries and illness which evidently affected the quality and energy within the line-up, Tottenham certainly gave them a good game until the final whistle but just lacked the final touch to snatch a point although there are positives to bring into this game.
Liverpool though weren’t at their best against Man Utd with a largely wasteful performance on the attack amidst poor marking of Utd’s goals, so I expect a strong response here with a full-strength line-up and changes to be saved for Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Accrington Stanley.
Last month’s league clash produced a thriller but I do expect it to be much closer given the squad rotation at play throughout a busy January for both clubs, yet Liverpool should have enough to claim the advantage ahead of their home leg.
Prediction: Tottenham 1-2 Liverpool
Result: Tottenham 1-0 Liverpool
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