Liverpool FC

On the winning goal for Tottenham coming with his team briefly down to 10 men after Bergvall's challenge on Kostas Tsimikas...

It was a good goal, let that be clear. A ball in behind, a cut-back cross, Bergvall scoring, stayed really calm, finished it off, but I don't think you're interested in that. I think you're interested in the moment before. When I just walked in, I think I saw Ange sitting here on Sunday. Something happened and I think Spurs weren’t happy with a few decisions that were made on Sunday and many people always say that this will eventually match up in the end of the season.

I'm not one of them that believes that because sometimes you can be unlucky in a season, or lucky in a season. On Sunday a decision went against them, maybe today a decision went in favour of them, which is, of course, very unlucky for us because I never felt we were going to lose this game. Especially not after the first 15 to 20 minutes because I did feel Spurs started the game better than us. But after that, in my opinion, we had most of the game control, played most of the game in their half, had much more ball possession and then a moment like this, if you go down to 10 for a few seconds against a team that can play good football, like Tottenham can, it's far from ideal.

On whether Bergvall should have picked up a second yellow card for the tackle...

I don’t think there is any debate about that. They say he didn’t stop the counter-attack. I think every manager would prefer if the tackle being made now 40 yards away from our goalkeeper - I don’t think you really stop a counter-attack then - every manager would prefer to get a second yellow card for the other team than to finish that counter-attack with a player less to play that counter-attack with. If that is not a discussion, then the next discussion is if it was reckless enough, [so] just give advantage, then just come back and say, 'Yeah, I thought the tackle was still too reckless.' They still have to give a yellow.

In the VAR decision he had to tell everyone what his decision was, but unfortunately he didn’t have to do this with this decision. Things happen. Very unlucky for us... the good thing for us is that if you ever have to lose a game, it’s better that you lose one when there is still a second leg to be played. [It's a] far from ideal starting position for us because they have a really good team, probably some players come back for the second leg. So, far from ideal to lose here, but if I ever have to lose I prefer to lose if there's still a leg to be played. Then it would've been only this game.

On whether Liverpool were 'not quite at their best' in the game...

If you compare it with the 6-3 [in the Premier League] then that’s clear, but I don’t think we will reach that level in every single game we play. You can always expect a reaction from Spurs, which you saw today, you can always expect a reaction from the fans because it’s a semi-final. We all know how important it is to us, but also how important it is for the Spurs fans to go to the final. We knew when we came here that it would never be the same game as we played here one week ago or two weeks ago, but still I saw a lot of things the same. I think even in that game the ball possession was equal, but now I think we had 60 to 40 [per cent]. There's many good things to take for me, more than the [Manchester] United game, but the result was not as good as against United.

On his thoughts on a first VAR announcement from the referee...

I think you can't judge something on one game, but if it’s offside then I don't think anyone had to explain something. When he started explaining something, you saw a red and a blue line. I think it would be more interesting for everyone if he would've explained why he didn't give a second yellow card than explaining why he cancelled the goal, because that's what everybody could see on the screen. But I know that's not the rule. It's the rule to have these decisions when the VAR is involved, and the VAR was of course not involved in yes or no [for] a second yellow. In general I think let's judge this not on an evening, let's judge this if we see this a few more times.

On staying calm at full-time despite being disappointed by the decision...

I don’t think I am known in Holland for [being] the person who always stay calm with referee decisions! Although I do think the wrong opinion about me over there when it comes to refereeing decisions! The decision is made, you can’t change it. In the moment when he didn’t give the second yellow nobody thought that it would have had such a big impact 30 seconds later. I think - I haven’t asked him - but I am 99.9 per cent sure I wasn’t the only one who felt not the best [when the goal was scored]. I am 99.9 per cent sure when Bergvall scored the referee was like, 'Is this really happening?' because he couldn't change it anymore. It was, for him, also far from ideal I think - but that's why I say 99.9 because I couldn't look into his head and he didn't have to tell what he felt.

Lucas Bergvall’s late winner settled Wednesday night’s game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the goal arriving moments after the Spurs midfielder had escaped a second yellow card for a foul on Kostas Tsimikas.

The Reds’ unbeaten run was therefore halted at 24 matches and when Van Dijk was asked by Sky Sports to explain what led to just a second loss of the season, the captain said: “Obviously we played against an intense team with good attacking players. They can make it difficult, they keep running.

“I think we created good moments [and] good opportunities at times – not really clear-cut chances in my opinion, but still enough that we could have scored.

“Unfortunately we didn’t. It’s quite cliched but it’s half-time now and I’m looking forward to the game back at Anfield.”

Van Dijk continued: “I’m not sure we were a level or two [below our best] but obviously at times I think we could have done better.

“But that’s part of football as well: you try to play your best game ever, every one of us, and at times we played through them nicely and we created some one-v-ones on the side and we created some dangerous moments.

“But they were able to defend it much better than they did when we played here a couple of weeks ago. And, yeah, we move on – we take it on the chin.

“Like I said, it’s half-time and we have another 90+ minutes to go and like I said, I am really looking forward to that.”

Read our match report from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Team news

Liverpool made four changes for the contest, with Conor Bradley, Kostas Tsimikas and Jarell Quansah stepping into defence.

In attack, meanwhile, Diogo Jota returned to lead the Reds’ frontline in the capital for his first start since October.

Liverpool: Alisson, Van Dijk, Mac Allister (Konate, 80), Salah, Jones, Gakpo (Diaz, 60), Jota (Nunez, 60), Tsimikas, Gravenberch, Quansah (Endo, 30), Bradley (Alexander-Arnold, 60).

Subs not used: Kelleher, Chiesa, Elliott, Robertson.

First half

It was the hosts who started the better of the two teams, pressing Liverpool high and forcing several stray passes in the final third.

The early threat resulted in the opening chance of the game, with Alisson Becker reacting well down low to his right to keep out a Radu Dragusin effort, the defender turning a Heung-Min Son shot towards goal inside the box.

Following the passage of play, there was a lengthy stoppage as Rodrigo Bentancur was stretchered from the field, being replaced by Brennan Johnson.

Son again threatened the Liverpool defence a short while later, stepping outside of Bradley on the left to drill a low ball into the six-yard box, though teammate Dominic Solanke could only turn wide.

Liverpool returned fire at the other end, seeing a Mohamed Salah effort flash past the post from distance, before they were forced into a change of their own, Quansah picking up a knock and Wataru Endo his replacement.

Alexis Mac Allister then saw a header saved from close range following a dead-ball delivery from Tsimikas, the ball finding his free run into the box.

Ahead of the interval, Liverpool threatened once more at a swift break via Cody Gakpo, with the forward unleashed a fizzing drive at goal that nearly caught goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky by surprise to close out the opening 45.

Second half

The game restarted at pace after the change of ends, both teams searching for the opening goal with a number of crosses into the area.

Neither goalkeeper, however, were being properly tested as the two sides battled for possession.

Tottenham spurned a good chance to break the deadlock, capitalising on Bergvall stealing the ball from Alisson on the edge of the area.

Pedro Porro first saw his resulting shot blocked by Virgil van Dijk, ahead of the ball finding its way back into his path on the right, though he could only lift another effort past the far post with a dink.

On the hour, the Reds opted to make a triple change, Darwin Nunez, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz replacing Jota, Bradley and Gakpo respectively.

Nunez almost made an immediate impact following his introduction, guiding a header at goal from 12 yards out after a looping Mac Allister cross, but the chance was well caught by Kinsky in the Spurs net.

The No.9 again broke free in the box, latching onto a Salah ball forward, though his strike was saved by the onrushing home stopper once more.

Alexander-Arnold then came within inches of finding the lead for the Reds, hitting a stunning low drive at goal from a tight angle with his right boot, only for the retreating Dragusin to clear off the line, ahead of Mac Allister's follow-up falling the wrong side of the post.

In minute 76, Tottenham had the ball in the back of the net via Solanke's break, the striker darting onto a ball over the top to finish past Alisson. The goal, though, was ruled out by VAR after the forward strayed offside in the build-up.

Spurs, however, weren't to be denied four minutes from time, as Bergvall struck a low shot into the bottom corner of the net, meeting Solanke's cut-back to finish well, with Tsmikas off the field briefly following the scorer's earlier challenge.

Nunez almost levelled in added time with a clever reaction volley from a Diaz cross, though Kinsky pushed his effort wide to see out the match.

This article has been automatically translated and, while all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, some errors in translation are possible. Please refer to the original English-language version of the article for the official version.

The Reds visit Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the tie’s opening match tonight (8pm GMT kick-off) and then host the return fixture at Anfield on February 6.

VAR will be in operation and in-stadium VAR announcements will also be trialled across both legs of each semi-final, with Arsenal and Newcastle United facing off elsewhere in the last four.

“As part of the trial, referees will announce (over the stadium public address system) the final decision following a visit to the VAR pitchside monitor, or upon the conclusion of factual matters such as accidental handball by a goalscorer or offside judgements. Only the final decision will be announced in the stadium,” said the EFL.

“In-stadium VAR announcements have already been successfully introduced in several FIFA events, including the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and aim to provide greater clarity and understanding around key decisions to supporters in the stadiums and those watching from home.”

Illness caused the midfielder to miss the Reds’ 2-2 draw with Manchester United on Sunday and, during Tuesday morning’s pre-match press conference, Arne Slot said: “Yesterday he wasn’t in [training] yet. If he’s in today, I would doubt if he’s available to start the game.

“But hopefully he’s in today. Yesterday he wasn’t.”

Liverpool visit Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where they won 6-3 in the Premier League a little over two weeks ago, on Wednesday night and will be without Joe Gomez, who has a hamstring injury.

Caoimhin Kelleher routinely plays in the Carabao Cup but Slot did not confirm his plans for the goalkeeper position when asked to do so.

“I think I decided the whole line-up already but, in many ways, people [journalists in the press conference] have tried to get to know what the line-up is!” the head coach replied.

“I said many times that there are many things going into a line-up and that is the same for tomorrow again… if you ask me after the game I am more than happy to answer those questions but first of all I think the players should know how we are going to play and if all of them are available, that is also something we have to find out.”

Slot was also quizzed on whether he will rotate his squad for the first leg and stated: “I think if you look at all the fixtures we’ve had this season, there are so many things going into a line-up – short term, long term, qualities of the opponent, where are my players [at]?

“So, it’s going to always be a decision made about, in our opinion, the best line-up for tomorrow. In some situations, for Southampton away or other games, in my opinion the best line-up was the ones that didn’t start a lot.

“Let’s see what that is tomorrow for the game we play against Tottenham.”

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou also opted against providing details of who his starting goalkeeper will be, but did confirm that new signing Antonin Kinsky is available.

“We’ll see,” Postecoglou said, when asked if the 21-year-old stopper will make his Spurs debut on Wednesday.

“He obviously arrived Sunday, he’s had a couple of days of training and he’s registered and eligible to play. We’ve still got to do a couple of final things with him and then we’ll see.”

Postecoglou’s media briefing took place on Tuesday afternoon and on whether he had any ‘good news’ to report on player availability, he responded: “It depends. I think net-wise we are still down.

“We’ll get [Rodrigo] Bentancur back but we lose [James] Maddison and Pape Sarr by suspension so we are a couple of numbers down there. And in terms of the injuries, no-one is back. Mikey [Moore] potentially could be available to be on the bench.

“Everyone else from the weekend certainly feels better. Radu [Dragusin] has recovered, Archie [Gray] is better, they were the kind of main ones.

“Deki [Dejan Kulusevski] was a little bit under the weather but he’s good, so pretty much as was on the weekend, plus Bentancur and minus the other two.”

Ben Davies, Wilson Odobert, Richarlison, Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario remain sidelined.

On the task of facing Liverpool and his strategy for the two-legged tie, which concludes at Anfield on February 6, Postecoglou said: “We’ve got an opponent who has been the standout team so far this year in all competitions.

“Irrespective of how you play you realise there is a second leg to be played but that doesn’t change our approach for tomorrow. We’re at home and when it’s a two-legged affair, if you can get some kind of advantage in your home game that sets you up pretty well so that’s what we’ll try to do.

“They are a top side. They’re really settled, I think they have got just about everyone fit and healthy. They can rotate players so they’re in a good moment and it will be a great challenge for us.”

Last match

Liverpool 2-2 Manchester United (January 5): Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Jones, Salah, Diaz, Gakpo.

Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle United (January 4): Austin, Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence, Bergvall, Sarr, Kulusevski, Johnson, Solanke, Werner.

The current holders meet Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham Hotspur in the capital on Wednesday night for the first leg of their last-four tie.

The Reds are ultimately looking to return to the Wembley showpiece and retain their crown, but will not overlook the latest challenge in their way.

Round-up: Arne Slot's pre-Tottenham Carabao Cup press conference

"Before it [Wembley] comes we have to win against a big opponent," Tsimikas told Liverpoolfc.com. "I think always when we play against them it's really tough.

"First of all, we have to win both games if we want to be at Wembley. I think they have very, very talented players and they play really, really good football.

"Everybody is excited for this challenge but, first of all, we have to win the two games.

"Many years they [Tottenham] want to win a trophy and I think they will [do] everything to do that.

"As I say, it's a very, very hard opponent to play against, but this team showed many, many times that we are 100 per cent focused.

"The team is clear: we want to win everything. From the start of the season, we set our goals and the only thing we have to do is to go there, play our football and win the game."

Liverpool's desire to lift the League Cup again has only increased since winning away at Southampton in December's quarter-finals.

Tsimikas wants another unforgettable memory at the national stadium, having delivered the corner that Virgil van Dijk headed in to decide last season's final with Chelsea.

He continued: "Of course [the team's hunger increases], because you are two games away from the final.

"I think everybody who is playing football, the main aim is to win football matches and to win trophies.

"I think for everybody in this club the expectations are high. Always we want to win every single trophy we have ahead. The only thing we have to do is to play good football and to win football games.

"When you play in a stadium like Wembley, it's pleasant to be there and especially when you win the trophy and make everybody in this club happy and all the fans who always travel there and show their amazing support we have in every single game.

"We are more than happy to celebrate all together and always we want to win trophies."

Tsimikas made his comeback from an untimely injury in the Carabao Cup win at St Mary's when he appeared as a half-time substitute.

He has made a further two outings from the bench since then and now considers himself ready to grasp any starting XI opportunity given to him by Arne Slot.

"I wait for my turn from the manager to give me the chance to be back again and to play as good as I can and to help my team to achieve our goals," he said.

"Of course it was a little bit of a tricky period for me [with] the injury I had, but now I'm 100 per cent fully back and ready for every challenge I have ahead.

"I worked really hard – a lot of hours of treatment here in the training ground, even in my house. I always try to help myself [with] healing faster.

"I came back as fast as everybody thought but when you play in these high-level football games for this club, you have to be 100 per cent. I took my time.

"Now I'm fully here and 100 per cent. It was a really tricky period but I trained really hard and that's why I'm here."

The Reds visit Spurs on Wednesday evening (8pm GMT kick-off) to begin the two-legged contest for a place in the Wembley showpiece.

Read a round-up from the head coach's chat with the media ahead of the game below…

Dominik Szoboszlai fitness update

On what he is expecting from the first leg, just a few weeks after winning 6-3 at Spurs in the league…

I think what we expect before we go into the game is that two teams have such a clear identity and playing style, that is I think what most people expect to see tomorrow 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.

On Trent Alexander-Arnold…

I think we were all disappointed – not only Trent, we were all disappointed – by the way we played [against Manchester United on Sunday]. First of all, about the result. Parts of the game we could be quite satisfied with, other parts of our game we weren't completely happy with. That was not only Trent, there were more things in the game that we could have done better. Trent didn't play his best game, I've said it already, but that's not for the first time in his life he didn't play the best game of his career. He has played so, so, so many games well for this club. Now it wasn't his best – like for some others, it wasn't the best game for some others as well.

We just pick it up and start training again, because these players know if you play 50, 60 games in a season, once in a while you don't have your best performance. Maybe we should highlight more how good it is that these players are able to play every three days such a good game. And apart from the game maybe not being the best, it was again an eventful game from Liverpool. All the games we've played in the last six months – and maybe even longer when Jürgen [Klopp] was here – I got many text messages from people saying, 'What a game again!' Unbelievable what happened the last 10 minutes, both teams playing fully for a win. That is also part of our job I think, to make it an eventful game. That is what we are trying to do every game, mostly with a result or winning. Now it wasn't enough to win it, but it was definitely an interesting game for everyone to watch.

On handling any external debate around the club at the moment…

I am not [having] that debate with my players. I talk to my players so if there is anything that worries them, then they share this with me. That has not happened until now. What I do with the players is showing them what we could have done better against United; [and] what we have done well against United, because I think especially in the first half we created some very good chances out of a very good style of play. And the mentality we showed after being 1-0 down was something every fan likes to see, and me as a manager likes to see as well. That is where we are focusing on, and I am not focused on social media posts or what is being said about us. If you do that as a Liverpool manager you have no life, because this is one of the biggest clubs in the world and every second of the day people talk about us. It already takes a lot of my time to prepare the next game and to look back at the game we just played. If I have to do this as well then I need a few days off once in a while as well!

On whether it would 'benefit' Alexander-Arnold to have another match quickly…

I think it would benefit every player [after] we had a disappointing result. We would have loved to win that game so then every player wants to play two days later again. But every player that was not on the pitch would love to play tomorrow as well. That's the good thing – they all want to play. Almost all of them are fit, that is quite special in this part of the season as well. And I would highlight more on the fact that these players show up every three days, because they did show up also against United. If I am correct, United's manager said it was one of the best games they've played until now. If that means that if they play so well, we can still come up with a 2-2 and have more chances than them, then we're not in such a bad place as maybe all the people will tell us we are. So, we just analyse it as we always do and prepare ourselves for the next one.

On Cody Gakpo's form and what he brings to the team…

A lot. But I think I've said already a few times that I can completely understand how much focus there is on Mo [Salah]'s performance because that is remarkable, if a player has so many goals and so many assists. But if you combine the goals of Lucho [Luis Diaz] and Cody when they play as a left winger, they come quite close to the numbers Mo has. Mo's advantage is that because Federico [Chiesa] is not always available he is playing from the first until the last minute, but I think our left-winger position comes quite close to the numbers Mo has. So, that probably tells you then as well that part of the success is definitely the quality of the players but part of it is also the playing style we have. I just mentioned that again, the game against United was a game that everybody loved to watch because we play such an attacking style of football and what comes with an attacking style of football is scoring a lot of goals. That's what we do at the moment.

On the depth of his squad and whether he feels the need to make new signings in January…

It would be a bit weird if I said during the summer break that we are very happy with the team then I would tell you something completely different now. But you always look at the market, this club has always looked at the market. I think we did this with the goalkeeper we don't even have at the moment [Giorgi Mamardashvili]; if there is a chance in the market this club always tries to bring that chance in. But the team is in a good place. Unfortunately, Joe Gomez is injured [and] that means we go from four centre-backs back to three, but he will be back in a few weeks so [I am] very happy with the team and I think they deserved that trust from the club and from me if you look at the performances they have brought in over the last half-season.

On why Liverpool have conceded more goals recently when compared to earlier in the season…

I said in the beginning of the season when we conceded one or two chances, sometimes we were a bit lucky or it was [because of] the quality from the goalkeeper that we didn't concede. I don't think we conceded many more chances than we did when we kept the clean sheets. We had a clean sheet against West Ham when they hit the bar and the post, so that is a bit of football as well. It's also about the teams you face: if you go away to Newcastle I think that's a difficult away game for everyone. So, there we conceded three, we conceded two against Fulham with the red card included and conceding goals against United, which is a very good team in the league – I know everybody is looking at the league table but that is so far off from the quality they have – that is part of the season as well.

So, during the season sometimes the other teams have three or four chances and they don't score and other times they do score their goals. That has happened quite a lot recently. What I still see also when we concede the second goal against United, I think we had more bodies in our 18-yard box than them and Robbo [Andy Robertson] tried to do everything, tried to make a sliding tackle but the ball went through his legs and went in, and it went through the legs of Ibou [Ibrahima Konate]. So, as long as we bring more bodies inside the box than the other team then still you don't like to see you conceding a goal but I still see the same work-rate as we had at the beginning of the season. That is what is necessary and then it is also sometimes about the quality you face, which is something that happened against United and Newcastle because they have attackers that don't only score against us, also against other teams.

On whether Alexis Mac Allister is benefiting from a short break afforded to him by a two-game suspension in December...

No, because he played outstanding before. When I think about Macca, I cannot come up with a poor performance from him – he is so consistent in his performances. Of course, he is not like Mo, Cody or Lucho scoring 15 goals and 12 assists, but he is so involved in every game we play. He is so important for us defensively as well, bringing the ball towards these players. For me, he didn't find better performances afterwards [the suspension], but I think every player benefits for the long term to have sometimes a few days or a period off as well. I was happy I could give this to him, but I don't think his performances are better now than before he got the break. Hopefully because of this break it will give him even more consistent performances in February, March and April as well.

On whether he's spoken to Alexander-Arnold since Sunday...

Yes, but I've spoken to other players individually as well, which you do after almost every other game. I spoke to him before the game and then, as I already said to everyone, things I talk to him about I do not share over here [with the media]. It is normal you talk to players always; in this situation it wasn't his best game, so there were things I had to show which he has to improve. That's what you always do after every game. Sometimes you show how well they did, mostly when it comes to work-rate – you don't have to show a brilliant 80-yard pass because that they know. Sometimes you have to show them what they can improve, but I did not only do this with Trent. We were just talking about Macca and I think if you look at the second goal we conceded with the cut-back cross, if he sprints a bit harder he could prevent the shot from [Amad] Diallo as well. So, there are always things you can improve, but in general they've worked really hard and gave everything to get a result. Unfortunately, we were unable to get the best result but we still got a result.

On maintaining the challenge for honours deep into the second half of the season...

It's very difficult for me to compare last season with this season. The only thing I do know is what gives me the most confidence to look forward to the upcoming weeks and months is until now we haven't stolen one point; all the points we've got were fully deserved. I think even in some moments we deserved more than we got when we dropped points. That is the best forecast you can have for the second half of the season. I don't know how that was last season, if all the results were as expected or fully deserved, or if there were a few lucky moments as well. I don't know. What I do know is this season all the points we've got and all the results we've got were deserved, in my opinion.

All of the players are fit at the moment, but again if we drop points when the team has injuries people will say, 'That's because you have injuries'; Mo misses the penalty against [Real] Madrid, he is distracted by his contract situation; if Trent has not his best performance, he is distracted by the contract situation. If they play really well, nobody tells me that's because they have a contract situation. We always try to find arguments, but nine out of 10 times the best argument is the quality of the teams you face or the game plan the other team has.

United had a very good game plan – no build-up, at least not from the start, bring the ball long and don't give us the chance to press them high and go to a low block, which always makes it difficult for every team to create chances, which we did quite a lot actually. I think it is more about the game plan when we drop points than it is about too many games, players being distracted, having injuries and all these kind of things. Nine out of 10 times, it is because of the team you face.

The midfielder was forced to miss the 2-2 draw with Manchester United in the Premier League last weekend due to illness.

Asked if he is expecting to have the No.8 available for the trip to Spurs, Slot told a press conference on Tuesday morning: "Yesterday he wasn't in yet. If he's in today, I would doubt if he's available to start the game.

"But hopefully he's in today. Yesterday he wasn't."

On the possibility of rotating his squad for the trip to Spurs, the head coach added: "I think if you look at all the fixtures we've had this season, there are so many things going into a line-up – short term, long term, qualities of the opponent, where are my players [at]?

"So it's going to always be a decision made about, in our opinion, the best line-up for tomorrow. In some situations, for Southampton away or other games, in my opinion the best line-up was the ones that didn't start a lot.

"Let's see what that is tomorrow for the game we play against Tottenham."

The Reds meet Spurs at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in an 8pm GMT kick-off.

Here are 14 essential pre-match facts courtesy of Opta and LFC statistician Ged Rea…

This is Liverpool's 20th appearance in the League Cup semi-final and Tottenham's 18th – the top two last-four appearances of any clubs in the competition's history.

In the Reds' previous 19 League Cup last-four ties, they have won the first leg on 10 occasions, with four draws and five losses.

Of the 10 semi-final ties in which they have played the first leg away, they have won four and lost five.

Liverpool have progressed from seven of their last nine League Cup semi-final ties and are looking to reach the final in consecutive years for the first time since a run of four between 1981 and 1984.

The Reds have lost just one of their last 19 games in the competition (won 12, drawn six), going down 3-2 at Manchester City in the 2022-23 fourth round.

Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 16 away games across all competitions (won 12, drawn four) since a 2-0 loss at Everton in April. In the club's history, only between May 1987 and March 1988 (21) and January and October 1989 (18) have Liverpool enjoyed a longer run without defeat on the road.

The Reds are unbeaten in their last 11 games in all competitions against London-based sides (won eight, drawn three) and have not lost in their last seven visits to the capital (won five, drawn two).

This will be Liverpool's seventh visit to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They have won four, drawn one and lost one of their previous six trips there and scored six away at Spurs for the first time ever just over two weeks ago.

Cody Gakpo has been involved in nine goals in his nine League Cup appearances, scoring eight and assisting one. However, the only two games in which he's failed to register a goal or assist in the competition have been his two games in London (semi-final away to Fulham and final at Wembley last season).

Tottenham have progressed from four of their seven League Cup ties against Liverpool overall, but did lose 2-1 in the most recent such meeting in the 2016-17 fourth round.

Spurs have lost their last two League Cup games against the holders of the competition, most recently in the 2021 final versus Manchester City.

Tottenham have never lost when playing the first leg of a League Cup semi-final tie (including single-game ties) at home, winning five and drawing twice.