Liverpool.com

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has named a strong team for his side's semi-final first-leg game away at Tottenham, where the Reds won 6-3 just a couple of weeks ago in the Premier League.

Alisson Becker is in the Liverpool goal, selected ahead of Caoimhin Kelleher — a decision that Slot refused to reveal during his pre-match press conference. Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was criticised for his performance against Manchester United at the weekend, drops out of the team with Conor Bradley preferred.

Jarell Quansah comes into the Liverpool defense in place of Ibrahima Konate, lining up alongside Virgil van Dijk. At left-back, Kostas Tsimikas is chosen over Andy Robertson.

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The Liverpool midfield is the same trio who started against Manchester United, with Curtis Jones playing as the number 10 and Alexis Mac Allister alongside him. Dominik Szoboszlai, who has been ill, remains out, while Harvey Elliott is an option from the bench.

Diogo Jota comes into the Liverpool attack in place of Luis Diaz. Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo make up the rest of the forward line with Darwin Nunez and Federico Chiesa likely to get opportunities in the weekend's FA Cup tie against Accrington Stanley.

"I think what we expect before we go into the game is that two teams have such a clear identity and playing style," Slot said during his press conference. "That is I think what most people expect to see again as well.

"They have their identity, we have our own identity, and both teams trying to force that identity towards the other. Large parts of the away game two weeks ago, we could show our identity. But there were definitely also parts in the game where they showed how good of a team they are.

"Scoring three goals against us is also an accomplishment. I know we scored six in the game as well but scoring three against us, not many teams have done [that] until now."

Tottenham starting XI: Kinsky, Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence; Bissouma, Bentancur, Bergvall; Kulusevski, Solanke, Son. Subs: Austin, Dorrington, Reguilon, Olusesi, Moore, Min-Hyeok, Johnson, Werner, Lankshear.

Mohamed Salah is a player who commands attention both on and off the pitch. His social media presence is as captivating as his performances for Liverpool.

Currently, he's arguably in the best form of his career at Anfield, having become the club's fourth highest scorer with 232 goals in 376 appearances and clinched every major trophy during his tenure. The Egyptian forward, who tops the Premier League's 2024-25 scoring and assists charts with 18 and 13 respectively, has truly come into his own at 32.

This explains why Liverpool fans are eager for him to extend his stay. Salah's contract expires at the end of this season and unless renewed, he could leave on a free transfer.

He has expressed his wish to continue playing for Liverpool, but his social media posts have often sparked speculation among fans. Notably, his post following Sunday's 2-2 draw with Manchester United, where he scored from the penalty spot, and his response to Jamie Carragher.

Salah's latest social media update might be without words, but it reveals quite a bit. The post captures the Egyptian ace heading to London with Kostas Tsimikas and Ibrahima Konate for Liverpool's Carabao Cup showdown against Spurs tonight.

Even though there was speculation that Konate would be rested after returning from a nearly seven-week absence in the match against Manchester United, it seems he could still make an appearance or at least warm the bench this evening.

Arne Slot hinted at this possibility, remarking: "If you've been out for such a long time, it is difficult to immediately play two games a week. So it will not come as a surprise if he does not play on Wednesday."

"He played today for 90 minutes and I think he showed in that 90 minutes he was ready to play."

With Joe Gomez out of contention, Slot's options in defense are thinning down to just three, tightening the case for Konate's presence at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Meanwhile, there's also some ambiguity surrounding Dominik Szoboszlai's chance to play, having missed the Man United clash.

On Szoboszlai’s situation, Slot mentioned: "Yesterday he wasn't in yet but if he is in today, I would doubt he is available to start the game. But hopefully he is in today, but yesterday he wasn't."

Ange Postecoglou is a man under pressure, and he could certainly do with a trophy to answer some of his critics at Tottenham.

He is potentially just three games away from ending the club’s long wait for some silverware this season, although he faces the toughest of tests to make it through the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup against Liverpool.

Spurs host the Reds in the first leg in north London this evening, with Postecoglou in desperate need of a positive result at the moment amid what has been a dismal run of results in the Premier League recently, with Tottenham currently languishing in 12th.

Of course, they haven’t been helped by a mountain of injuries, with eight players set to be missing once again this evening.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario remains out with a foot injury, while Wilson Odobert is a long-term issue with a hamstring problem. Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie are all out injured, while Richarlison is unlikely to be involved despite returning to training.

Meanwhile, James Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr are suspended for the first leg, having picked up two yellow cards during Spurs' run to this point, leaving Postecoglou to pick through the remnants of his squad for this evening’s game.

The Australian is boosted by the signing of goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, who could come straight into the side for his debut. Despite struggling with illness, Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray should be able to line up in defense in front of their new keeper, with Pedro Porro and Djed Spence either side of them.

Without Sarr or Madison to call upon, Rodrigo Bentancur is back in the side after serving his seven-game ban, with Yves Bissouma returning after coming on as a substitute against Newcastle at the weekend and Lucas Bergvall retaining his spot.

It’s a familiar front three that Liverpool will be facing, and the Reds will be wary of the threat that Dejan Kulusevski, Son Heung-min and Dominic Solanke carry, with what could be a much-changed defense for the visitors facing a tough task.

Arne Slot will have his sights set on a first cup final with Liverpool later as the Reds take on Tottenham in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

Liverpool is of course defending the trophy this season, having won it in spectacular fashion against Chelsea last year for Jurgen Klopp’s last piece of silverware. Now, the competition could provide his successor with the first of what he hopes will be multiple trophies this season.

Of course, with the Premier League and Champions League still the priorities for the Reds, Slot will almost certainly make some changes in north London this evening. Having come this far though, and facing a side that will be desperate to claim some silverware of its own, the Liverpool boss may want to send a strong side out.

It’s a question then of how Slot balances things this evening. Considering Liverpool has an FA Cup clash with League Two side Accrington Stanley coming up at the weekend, that could be the ideal time for him to make wholesale changes and rest his stars, meaning tonight might see more subtle tweaks.

The first of those might see Caoimhin Kelleher deputizing for Alisson Becker in goal. Although Slot was coy on whether the Irishman will start, he has in essence become Liverpool’s cup goalkeeper over the last couple of years, and there is no reason to change that given he is a more than able backup to the Brazilian.

We could see a number of changes in defense. Slot has already suggested Ibrahima Konate might not be risked after making his return from injury on Sunday, so Jarell Quansah should start alongside Virgil van Dijk in the center.

Given the fallout from his performance against Manchester United, all eyes will be on whether Trent Alexander-Arnold starts tonight. If he doesn’t though, that’s not a sign of Slot losing faith by any stretch of the imagination, with Conor Bradley deserving of an opportunity at right-back.

We could also see Andy Robertson making way at left-back, with Kostas Tsimikas making his first start since November after returning from injury.

Midfield is a slightly tricky area to gauge. Slot would no doubt like to give Ryan Gravenberch a rest at some point, so Wataru Endo might come into his thinking, while Harvey Elliott deserves a chance to stake his claim, so he can replace Curtis Jones in the No.10 role, with Alexis Mac Allister providing some continuity.

In attack, it’s a question of whether Mohamed Salah is given a rest, and whether Federico Chiesa gets a rare start. The former’s fitness is exceptional, and having him in the side might give Liverpool the ideal platform to try and put one foot in the final, so he gets the nod from us.

On the left-hand side, Cody Gakpo gets another chance to add to his impressive tally in this competition, while it’s probably about time for Diogo Jota to return to the starting line-up, with the Portuguese replacing Luis Diaz.

Liverpool could be just 180 minutes away from another Wembley final, but it needs to overcome Tottenham first before Arne Slot can think about lifting his first piece of silverware at the club.

The Reds head to north London later this evening for the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final as they continue the defense of the trophy won by Jurgen Klopp last year. Liverpool of course has good recent memories of visiting Spurs, having put six past Ange Postecoglou's side last month, but if Slot makes changes to his side this evening, we could see a much different sort of game.

Here, Liverpool.com has picked out all of the information that you need to know, including the kick-off time, TV details, highlights and early team news. We'll start with kick-off details for the UK and US.

What time is kick-off?

The match kicks off at 8pm in the UK, which is 12pm Pacific Time and 3pm Eastern Time. It is set to be played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Liverpool demolished Spurs 6-3 just last month in the Premier League, thanks to goals from Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah.

Stuart Atwell will be the referee and, unlike previous rounds in the competition, there is VAR in the semi-finals and final, with Paul Tierney in charge of that this evening. This season's semi-finals will see a new VAR system trialed, with the referee set to announce any overturned decisions to the crowd in the stadium after a review.

Is the match on TV?

Yes. Viewers in the UK can watch the game on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, with coverage getting underway at 7pm. Streaming-wise, the game will be available on SKY GO.

In the USA, the Carabao Cup can be streamed live on Paramount+ which is where you will find live coverage of this fixture. The highlights will be available on YouTube and the Liverpool.com team will keep you updated with all the developments.

Paramount+ offers plans starting at 7.99 and allows you to stream tons of movies, shows, and live television. You can stream the NFL on CBS, UEFA Champions League, and more, so you’ll never miss a game.

Where can I catch the highlights?

Liverpool will make highlights available on LFCTV GO as well as its other official club channels. The goals will also be shared online alongside key moments in the match.

You can follow all the updates and read the analysis on Liverpool.com and you can also follow along live on our social channels including on Twitter and Facebook, and catch the post-match press conferences on the Blood Red YouTube channel.

Early team news

Dominik Szoboszlai looks likely to miss out again tonight, with Arne Slot revealing during his pre-match press conference on Tuesday that the midfielder has still been struggling with the illness that kept him out of the game against Manchester United at the weekend.

Joe Gomez remains out injured, while Slot has already hinted that Ibrahima Konate may be rested, having made his return from injury on Sunday.

Tottenham, meanwhile, is in the midst of an injury crisis, with eight players set to be missing tonight. Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario remains out with a foot injury, while Wilson Odobert is a long-term issue with a hamstring problem.

Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie are all out injured, while Richarlison is unlikely to be involved despite returning to training. Meanwhile, James Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr are suspended for the first leg, having picked up two yellow cards during Spurs' run to this point.

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has a few selection headaches to solve ahead of facing Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-finals this midweek with as many as 10 senior players missing through injury and suspension.

"Net-wise, we are still down," the Australian said during his press conference today. "We will get Rodrigo Bentancur back but we lose James Maddison and Pape Sarr by suspension. A couple of numbers down there.

"In terms of injuries, there is no one is back. Mikey (Moore) could potentially be available on the bench. Everyone else from the weekend certainly feel better; Radu (Dragusin) has recovered, Archie (Gray) is better. They were the main ones. Deki (Kulusevski) was under the weather but he is good. Pretty much as it was on the weekend plus Bentancur and minus the other two."

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Dragusin and Gray were ill at the weekend but they are likely to partner up at center-back. Richarlison is training again but he needs another few days before he is ready to be involved competitively.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is currently missing with a foot injury while summer signing Wilson Odobert has a long-term hamstring issue. Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie are all out injured at the moment, though all but Udogie could be back by the end of this month. That would mean each being involved in the return leg at Anfield, which isn't until Thursday, February 6.

Spurs could start new goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky after he was granted a work permit. "We will see," Postecoglou said. "He arrived on Sunday I think. He has had a couple of days of training. He is registered and eligible to play. We still have got to do a couple final things with him and then we will see."

Ange Postecoglou is dealing with an injury crisis ahead of the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool.

Spurs approach the game on the back of a woeful run of form and have failed to win any of the last four matches. A 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday means Tottenham is sitting 11th in the Premier League table.

While Postecoglou’s style has drawn criticism, the former Celtic manager has not been helped by the number of injuries and a recent illness outbreak. Radu Dragusin was the latest to succumb to the latter and had to be replaced at half-time against Newcastle.

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With Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies injured, it means Spurs played the second half at the weekend without a recognised center-back. Archie Gray has filled in at the heart of defence over recent weeks, but Postecoglou revealed after the loss to Eddie Howe’s side that he has also been struggling with illness.

The bug kept Fraser Forster out of the game altogether and with first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario injured, it meant Brandon Austin had to deputise in nets, and may be forced to do so again against Liverpool on Wednesday.

Destiny Udogie and Wilson Odobert are definitely ruled out of the match, but Mickey Moore and Richarlison could be in line to return if they have recovered from injury in time. "At this stage, Richy and Mikey Moore are the two next cabs off the rank, hopefully next week at some point,” said Postecoglou ahead of the Newcastle game.

It brings the number of possible or confirmed absentees up to 10 for Spurs - which is far from ideal ahead of a clash with Arne Slot’s Liverpool.

The Reds won 6-3 when the sides met just over two weeks ago and a similar scoreline in the semi-final first leg would be welcome on Wednesday night. The sides lock horns in the first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this week, with the return fixture at Anfield not set to be played until 6 February.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has hinted Ibrahima Konate will not feature in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur this week.

The French defender returned to the Liverpool starting line-up for the first time since he picked up a knee injury back in November against Real Madrid in the Champions League, with the Reds drawing 2-2 with Manchester United in his return.

However, due to having only just returned to first-team action, Slot has hinted he might not feature against Tottenham in midweek, which would likely see Jarell Quansah partner Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the Reds defence. Speaking after the draw with United, where Konate played 90 minutes, Slot said: "Because he was fit [on his decision to throw Konate back into the starting XI].

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"If he wouldn’t (feel okay), we wouldn’t have started him. Then he doesn’t train with us. The moment he starts to train with the team, he is fit again.

"And it’s not to say he can immediately play two games in a week, but he can definitely play 90 minutes like he showed today. And like you saw, except the first game when I chose Quansah, all the other games, when Ibou was fit, he started. The moment he is fit, he can start.

"But if you’ve been out for such a long time, it is difficult to immediately play two games a week. So it will not come as a surprise if he does not play on Wednesday. He played today for 90 minutes and I think he showed in that 90 minutes he was ready to play."

Arne Slot has explained why he chose to select Ibrahima Konate against Manchester United, with the Frenchman starting ahead of Jarell Quansah.

Konate had missed the last eight games prior to the visit of Ruben Amorim’s side, with Joe Gomez tending to fill in at the heart of defence in his absence. But with the latter sustaining a hamstring injury last time against West Ham United, Slot was always going to be forced into a defensive change against United.

Quansah had seemed the obvious choice leading up to the game, with Liverpool’s official website even asking the academy graduate about the possibility of facing United. Instead, Konate was something of a shock selection.

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The former RB Leipzig man was only back in training on Friday, but two days later played the full 90 minutes on his Premier League return. While some could view the decision, and Slot’s reluctance to play Quansah, as an indication that he is not rated by the Dutchman, the Liverpool boss rejected that suggestion.

Asked why he chose Konate, Slot replied: “Because he was fit. If he wouldn’t [have been] then we wouldn’t have started him, then he doesn’t train with us. The moment he starts to train with the team he is fit again. It is not to say that he can immediately play two games a week, but he can definitely play 90 minutes, like he showed today.

“Like you saw, except for the first game when I chose Quansah, all the other games when Ibou was fit he started, so that’s the answer I think to your question. The moment he is fit, he can start.

"But if you have been out for such a long time it’s difficult to immediately play then two games a week, so it must not come as a surprise if he doesn’t play on Wednesday. But he played today for 90 minutes and I think he showed in that 90 minutes that he was ready to play.”

It seems likely that Quansah will start against Tottenham Hotspur in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semifinal first leg and afford the youngster a rare opportunity. The center-back has started just two Premier League matches all season, one of which came on the opening weekend of the season when he was replaced at halftime against Ipswich Town.

Quansah's minutes since have led to the conclusion that Slot prefers Konate or Gomez alongside Virgil van Dijk.

Tottenham hosts Wolves in the Premier League later today, with Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou under pressure to deliver a win after two poor performances.

Tottenham has lost its last two games against Nottingham Forest and Liverpool to leave it sitting in 12th in the table, with more and more questions being asked about their manager's style of play.

They come up against a Wolves side on a massive high after back-to-back wins over Leicester City and Manchester United, with the arrival of Vitor Pereira making an instant impact.

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Here's all you need to know in order to be able to watch the match...

What time is kick-off?

The match kicks off at 3pm in the UK, which is 7am Pacific Time and 10am Eastern Time in the US. Chris Kavanagh is the referee for the clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Jarred Gillett on VAR duty. The two sides last met back in February, with a Joao Gomes double securing a 2-1 win for Wolves in north London.

Is the match on TV?

Viewers in the UK will be unable to watch the game live, with Sky Sports instead showing Leicester vs Manchester City and West Ham vs Liverpool today.

In the US, the game can be watched live on Peacock Premium, while it can be streamed on Peacock.

Want to watch more live sports? Peacock has your favorite sports, shows, and more all in one place. Peacock offers plans starting at $7.99 so you can stream live sports like NFL, Premier League, and Big Ten Football.

Where can I catch the highlights?

Highlights from the game will be uploaded to the Sky Sports Premier League channel on YouTube shortly after full-time. Fans in the UK will also be able to catch extended highlights on Match of the Day, which is scheduled to be shown at 10:30pm on BBC One and will include highlights from five other games, including Liverpool's trip to West Ham.

Early team news

Tottenham could be without nine players later as their injury crisis continues. Djed Spence is out through suspension after being sent off against Nottingham Forest, while seven players are set to be missing through injury or illness.

Ben Davies, Mikey Moore, Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Wilson Odobert and Richarlison are all ruled out, while Radu Dragusin is a doubt after picking up an ankle knock.

As for Wolves, Pablo Sarabia, Sasa Kalajdzic, Boubacar Traore, Enso Gonzalez and Yerson Mosquera are all set to miss out through injury, while Mario Lemina is a doubt with a calf problem.