Tottenham Hotspur Vs. Liverpool Prediction: Spurs' Determination To Stop EFL Cup King

Tottenham Hotspur, wants to end their 17-year title fast (photo: x @SpursFoundation)

JAKARTA Tottenham Hotspur will host Liverpool in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final on Wednesday night, January 8. This is a very important game for both teams. Liverpool manager Arne Slot is determined to defend the title won by Jurgen Klopp last season, while Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou wants to prove his promise to win trophies in his first two years at the club.

Tottenham Hotspur will need a much better performance than when Liverpool last visited North London before Christmas. In that match, Spurs suffered a crushing 6-3 defeat due to a very poor defensive performance. The defeat reflected the aggressive philosophy of attacking Postecoglou, but also highlighted the injury crisis and disease that hit the Spurs squad.

The 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle United on the weekend left Spurs slumped in 12th place in the Premier League standings, 10 points adrift of the top six. Spurs have only picked up one point from their last four games, adding to pressure on Postecoglou to a positive result in the EFL Cup.

In the last 11 matches, Spurs have only been able to record one clean sheet. This situation is getting more difficult with injuries hitting their back lines. On weekends, Spurs were forced to play throughout the second half without a fit center-back, highlighting their defensive crisis.

Although the weekend match against Tamworth in the FA Cup is predicted to be an easy win, Spurs will have to take advantage of this match against Liverpool to build momentum before facing the North London Derby against Arsenal next week.

Spurs' ambitions in the league seem to be starting to fade, so this competition is a real opportunity to end their 17-year title fasting. Spurs' last trophy was the 2008 EFL Cup under Juande Ramos. Since then, they have failed to win trophies even though they have reached three finals.

This season, Spurs' journey in the EFL Cup has been a significant improvement over the previous two seasons, where they were knocked out in the second and third half. Spurs even had to face the toughest route by beating two Manchester clubs, including a dramatic 4-3 win over Manchester United in the previous round.

However, big challenges await them in this semi-final, where Liverpool are leaders of the Premier League standings and reigning champions of the EFL Cup.

Liverpool have made the EFL Cup their favorite competition in recent years. The win over Chelsea in the 2022 and 2024 finals brought them 10 EFL Cup titles, more than any club. If able to qualify for the finals this season, they may have to beat another one or two London clubs, where Arsenal are still in the competition.

Liverpool are also facing a difficult journey in the EFL Cup this season, where all their opponents are from the Premier League. They beat West Ham easily in the third half before overcoming Brighton and Southampton in a tough match.

After two draws in the league, Liverpool restarted their winning trend with four consecutive wins. However, the trend stalled over the weekend as rising Manchester United forced a 2-2 draw at Anfield.

Even so, Arsenal's draw against Brighton kept Liverpool ahead by a six-point margin at the top of the Premier League standings. If Liverpool's performance in the second half of the season is the same as in the first half, they are predicted to end the season with 92 points and almost certainly win the second Premier League title in five years.

Tottenham Hotspur is hit by an injury and disease crisis. Almost all of their defense is doubtful for this match. Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, and Ben Davies were sidelined by injury, while Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray had just recovered from illness.

In the goalkeeper's position, Brandon Austin was forced to appear last weekend because Fraser Forster was sick. However, the arrival of Antonin Kinsky, a talented young Czech goalkeeper, is expected to be a temporary solution.

Richarlison, cap Moore, and Wilson Odobert are also still out, but Rodrigo Bentancur is back on the line after a suspension.

In the Liverpool camp, Arne Slot is expected to field a stronger team than the previous round, considering they don't have a Premier League schedule until next week. Dominik Szoboszlai may return from illness, while Joe Gomez is still absent due to a hamstring injury.

Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, who are often rested in this competition, are likely to miss again. Instead, young players like Jarell Quansah and Harvey Elliott are expected to get playing minutes.

Liverpool will come with high confidence, while Spurs are under pressure to get positive results after a series of poor results. Despite playing at home, the injury crisis that hit Spurs made it difficult for them to compete against solid Liverpool.

With Liverpool's impressive attack line performance, it is difficult to see Spurs come out victorious in this match. Score prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Liverpool.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-3):Kinsky; Pedro Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence; Bissouma, Bentancur, Kulusevski; Johnson, Solanke, Son

Liverpool (4-3-3): Kelekerat; Bradley, Quansah, Konate, Tsimikas; Morton, Endo, Szoboszlai; Elliott, Jota, Nunez