A place in the Carabao Cup final is up for grabs when Tottenham take on Liverpool on Thursday evening. Ange Postecoglou’s side travel to Merseyside holding a one-goal lead after Lucas Bergvall’s late winner in the first leg at the beginning of January.
It is only a slender lead but it could prove vital in the context of the semi-final tie. Tottenham will certainly head to Anfield in confident mood after recording a much-needed Premier League win at Brentford last Sunday.
Liverpool themselves were also victorious last weekend after leaving Bournemouth with all three points following a 2-0 win on the south coast. The Reds have only lost once at home in all competitions this season, with that coming against high-flying Nottingham Forest back in September.
Postecoglou could potentially hand Tottenham debuts to new signings Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel following their moves from Lens and Bayern Munich respectively. So could we see any changes to the Spurs XI the Australian fielded at Brentford? football.london takes a look at possible alterations below:
Kevin Danso for Archie Gray/Ben Davies
Danso could potentially come straight into the team for his Tottenham debut after joining from Ligue 1 outfit Lens on Sunday. Postecoglou has already revealed that the Austrian is in a position to play but Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are not as they work their way back to full fitness.
As Archie Gray has started every game for Tottenham since the draw against Rangers in the Europa League, the youngster is in need of a breather at some point and it may arrive this week. Gray will be the favourite to drop out if Danso comes straight in, unless of course Postecoglou wants to keep the former Leeds man in the team and that sees Ben Davies miss out in the process.
Mathys Tel for Mikey Moore
Mikey Moore started at Brentford on Sunday but you would imagine he drops out of the team and is an option off the bench at Anfield. All eyes will be on the teamsheet come 7pm to see if Tel is handed his Spurs bow on Merseyside.
Postecoglou has demonstrated during his time at Tottenham that he will throw players in at the deep end, with Danso and Tel possibly the next two players set to benefit from his thinking. Tel mainly plays from the left-wing but he does have experience of playing on the right and as a striker.
If he is to start, his first Tottenham minutes could come from the right flank. One other option available to Postecoglou is for Kulusevski to move from his midfield berth to right-wing, thus allowing the boss to bring in an extra midfielder if he plans to start with Tel on the bench.
Lucas Bergvall/Pape Matar Sarr for Yves Bissouma
Postecoglou has plenty of choice when it comes to his midfield to take on Liverpool. Bergvall will be itching to start again after taking his place on the bench at Brentford, while Pape Matar Sarr has made his case to start after his goal in the closing stages of the match in west London.
If the boss does want to bring one of the duo into his team then Yves Bissouma could possibly be at risk unless Moore makes way and Kulusevski plays from the right rather than Tel. As it is such an important game in Tottenham’s season, Postecoglou must decide on his best midfield formula as Liverpool will really test them in the middle of the park.
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