(Football news) Both sides will be full of confidence after hugely important 2-0 wins on the road over the weekend, having implications at both ends of the Premier League table.
Almost a month has passed since Lucas Bergvall fired home a late winner for Spurs in the first leg of this semi-final showdown, which was ultimately mired in controversy.
Just minutes before netting that all-important goal, Bergvall was fortunate not to receive a second yellow card for a late lunge on Kostas Tsimikas, but Liverpool and their manager Arne Slot would also have admitted that they were well below par all evening in North London.
Very few will look past Liverpool turning this tie on its head in the return leg this week though, and extend their record number of final appearances in this competition to 15.
Jurgen Klopp’s final honour at Liverpool was the EFL Cup last season, notching Liverpool’s 10th win in the competition, and the bookmakers still make them favourites to retain their crown, despite trailing from the first leg, and Newcastle United having one foot in the final from the other semi.
A win of two goals is required here, and since losing to Nottingham Forest back in September, Liverpool are unbeaten in 15 at home, scoring at least twice on each occasion, and winning 13.
It was on the road where the Reds sealed a crucial victory in their hunt for a second league title in 35 years though, winning 2-0 at in-form Bournemouth, who caused Slot’s side numerous problems throughout the afternoon.
A double from the ever-reliable Mohamed Salah secured the victory though, and kept Liverpool six points clear at the top of the Premier League, just a few days after they finished on top of the inaugural league phase in the Champions League.
The next three fixtures for Liverpool will be vital in keeping their hopes alive of completing an unprecedented quadruple, with a trip to Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup coming up at the weekend after this one, before they go to Goodison Park for the rearranged Merseyside derby against Everton.
For Tottenham, they may not get a better chance to end their long wait for a trophy than this one for quite some time.
Leading heading into the second leg, with the potential of facing Newcastle in the final, as opposed to the formidable Manchester City they lost to in the 2021 final, means manager Ange Postecoglou could well stick to his promise of winning a trophy by his second season at the club.
However, the last two times Spurs have played a two-legged EFL Cup semi-final, both were against Chelsea, and ended in defeat, including in 2019 when they led 1-0 heading into the second leg away from home.
Anfield has brought Spurs very little joy in recent years either, with no win at this venue since 2011, and just three draws in 14 since then, but that would be enough to see them through to a fourth final since they won the competition in 2008.
It has been a very good week for Postecoglou though, beating Brentford 2-0 in the league to move up from 16th to 14th, just a few days after sealing their place in the last 16 of the Europa League with a routine win over Elfsborg, with three youngsters getting on the scoresheet.
Another shutout at the weekend now means Spurs have kept four clean sheets in eight games, despite all of the criticism around Postecoglou’s tactics and the injury crisis they are facing.
Two of those did come against Elfsborg and Tamworth, and while they looked hopeless defensively against Everton and Leicester City recently, keeping two of English football’s strongest attacks out in the form of Liverpool and Brentford cannot be discredited.
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