Liverpool vs. Tottenham Hotspur: EFL Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

On Thursday night, Liverpool will host Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final match. Tottenham Hotspur leads the series 1-0 going into the game.

The two teams will be riding high on confidence after their respective 2-0 away victories over the weekend. These crucial wins had consequences for their respective Premier League positions.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

The first leg of this semi-final matchup occurred over a month ago, with Spurs' Lucas Bergvall scoring a late victory.

Bergvall was lucky to escape a second yellow card for a late challenge on Kostas Tsimikas only minutes before the crucial goal. Still, both Liverpool and manager Arne Slot would agree that their performance throughout the match in North London was severely lacking.

In the return leg this week, however, few expect Liverpool to upset the odds and go on to make a record-tying 15th final appearance in this tournament.

Even though Liverpool was down 1-0 going into the match, and Newcastle United advanced to the final thanks to their performance in the other semi-final, bookies still have Liverpool pegged as favorites to reclaim the EFL Cup, Jurgen Klopp's last trophy with the club.

We need a two-goal victory here, and Liverpool haven't lost in fifteen home games since September (when they lost to Nottingham Forest). At that time, they scored twice in every game and won thirteen.

However, the Reds' 2-0 away triumph against in-form Bournemouth—who gave Slot's side plenty of issues throughout the afternoon—sealed a crucial victory in their pursuit of a second league crown in 35 years.

However, the win was sealed thanks to two goals scored by the dependable Mohamed Salah. Salah maintained Liverpool's six-point lead atop the Premier League, which comes only days after they won the opening league round of the Champions League.

If Liverpool wants to keep their record of four consecutive league titles alive, they must win their next three matches. The first is an FA Cup match against Plymouth Argyle the following weekend, and the second is a rescheduled Merseyside derby against Everton at Goodison Park.

Tottenham may not have another opportunity like this one for a long time to finally win a trophy.

The team is now in the lead going into the second leg, and manager Ange Postecoglou has kept his vow to win a trophy before the end of his second season on the job. If they face Newcastle in the final instead of the dangerous Manchester City, they will lose in the 2021 final.

Even though Spurs led 1-0 going into the 2019 away leg of the EFL Cup semi-final, they lost both times against Chelsea in the two-legged matchup.

Although Spurs haven't had much success at Anfield lately—they haven't won there since 2011 and have only managed three draws in fourteen matches since then—a victory here would propel them to their fourth final appearance since 2008.

But this has been a fantastic week for Postecoglou. His team jumped from 16th to 14th in the league with a 2-0 victory over Brentford. A few days before, they defeated Elfsborg routinely to secure a spot in the Europa League quarterfinals, and three of their younger players scored.

Even though they've been criticized for Postecoglou's tactics and are dealing with an injury problem, Spurs have maintained four clean sheets in eight games after another shutout at the weekend.

Even if they seemed completely defenseless in their most recent matches against Everton and Leicester City, their feat of thwarting two of English football's most potent attacking forces—Liverpool and Brentford—can not be disproven.

Liverpool x Tottenham Hotspur Team News

Trent Alexander-Arnold, who started the match against Bournemouth on Saturday but left early due to a thigh injury, will likely sit out this match for Liverpool. However, a scan has dispelled initial concerns, showing that the injury is not as severe as first believed.

With Diogo Jota's and Curtis Jones's recent returns, Liverpool is expected to have a nearly complete roster for this match. Joe Gomez is the hosts' lone injured absence at the moment.

Also, Tsimikas and Andy Robertson will be vying for starting roles at left-back. At the same time, Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai will decide who will join Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch in the middle of the pitch.

Radu Dragusin's season-ending knee injury against Elfsborg last week dealt another devastating blow to Spurs, who had already seen players return and make tremendous progress in their recoveries.

After sitting out last weekend to prepare for this match, Dutch defender Micky van de Ven, who made a comeback in that Europa League match, should be fit to start alongside Ben Davies in defense.

Cristian Romero and Dominic Solanke's return is still a ways off, but Postecoglou is certain that Destiny Udogie, Guglielmo Vicario, Brennan Johnson, Wilson Odobert, and Timo Werner will all be back within the next week or two.

Our Predictions

Liverpool to win & over 3.5 goals @ 1.81 on Sky247.ng

Another goal-fest, unfortunately for Spurs, might be on the horizon, considering Postecoglou's reluctance to adjust and Liverpool's frantic desire to score. The first leg was the first time either of these teams has played in an EFL Cup game with less than three goals this season.

Although Spurs finally snapped their winless league run last weekend, they continue to routinely concede goals against more vigorous opponents. If Liverpool are at their best here, they will likely replicate the merciless performance they displayed in the league match in December, which ended 6-3.

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