Rousing The Kop

It has been a mixed season at Liverpool for Conor Bradley under Arne Slot.

The young defender has impressed whenever he has featured under the Dutchman, but he sustained an injury against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League that kept him on the sidelines for over a month.

Bradley has relished the competition with Trent Alexander-Arnold and has proved during his stint with the first team that he more than belongs here.

His injury was obviously a tough one to take, but he’s now back and looks set to key role in the second half of the season.

And the Northern Irishman has hailed two unseen Liverpool coaches for their help during his rehabilitation.

Conor Bradley hails two Liverpool coaches for help with injury rehab

With Alexander-Arnold injured, Bradley featured against Real Madrid in November and was one of the best players on the pitch as he comfortably got the better of Kylian Mbappe on the night.

Frank Leboeuf was in awe of Bradley’s performance against Real Madrid, admitting that he stood up and applauded when the young defender crunched into Mbappe to win the ball back with a perfectly timed slide tackle.

However, in the dying embers of the game, he went down clutching his hamstring and was ruled out for over a month as he missed the festive period.

MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES

Bradley is now back and started the Carabao Cup game against Tottenham Hotspur as the Reds lost the first leg 1-0.

Ahead of the game against Accrington Stanley later today, the Northern Irishman hailed physios Joe Lewis and Dave Rydings for their role behind the scenes with his recovery.

He said via LFC: “Obviously working with the physios, Joe Lewis and Dave [Rydings], helped me massively in getting back fit as quick as possible.

“It’s difficult, especially at the start because you’re asking, ‘Why has this happened to me again?’

“But you’ve just got to keep working hard every day and make sure that you’re ready whenever you come back.”

Bradley expected to feature regularly from now

Bradley has returned to full fitness and gave a good account of himself against Tottenham despite the result.

Liverpool are blessed to have two great options at right-back and the young defender is expected to give Alexander-Arnold a run for his money during the business end of the season.

Bradley is in line for another start vs Accrington Stanley as Arne Slot prepares to ring in the changes for an FA Cup third-round tie against the League Two side.

​

Liverpool are coming to terms with their first loss for almost four months after defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.

The Reds have done incredibly well to avoid any losses over that period, and looked all set to add another draw to the pile in North London.

But after Lucas Bergvall was controversially allowed to stay on the pitch following a blatant second yellow card offence, the youngster then put Spurs ahead late in the game.

Arne Slot was not happy post-match, with the Bergvall incident unfortunately taking centre-stage.

The truth of the matter, however, was that Liverpool simply weren’t good enough to get a result across the 90 minutes.

There was plenty of rustiness within the Liverpool XI, with a few too many players not quite bringing their A game. One of those was Conor Bradley, who gave an honest assessment of his own display after the final whistle.

Conor Bradley admits to Tottenham rustiness

It was not such a surprise to see Slot throw Bradley in for his first start since the end of November.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was awful against Man United on Sunday and it was clear that a change may be needed for Spurs.

MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES

However, the 21-year-old struggled to get into the game and was eventually taken off on the hour mark. And speaking to LFCTV after the match, Bradley admitted that he wasn’t altogether happy with his outing.

“I felt it was a good performance,” he said of the team.

“First-half I think we were sort of shaky at times, some new players came in, I’ve obviously been out for six weeks so I gave away the ball a bit too much. But, no, I thought it was a good performance, just disappointed with the result and the [Bergvall] decision.

“I think there always is [a bit of rust to shake off] when you’ve been out for a couple of weeks,” Bradley added. But I felt I was just growing and growing into the game but just managing my minutes coming off on 60 and ready to go Saturday.”

Bradley set for Accrington start

As Bradley alludes to at the end of his comments, the right-back looks set to build on his match fitness with another outing on Saturday.

Slot is set to rotate heavily for Accrington’s visit to Anfield in the FA Cup.

With Bradley clearly needing minutes to get back to the level he was before injury, that looks like another good chance to get game time in his legs.

The Northern Irishman was flying before his cruel injury against Real Madrid at the back end of November.

Liverpool return to League Cup action this week with the first of two semi-final legs against Premier League rivals Tottenham.

The two sides head into Wednesday’s tie in contrasting form, with Liverpool flying high at the top of the Premier League standings whilst Tottenham sit in the bottom half of the table in 12th place, a whole 22 points off the Reds.

With Arne Slot confirming that Dominik Szoboszlai will miss the game for Liverpool, there’s a good chance that the Anfield side will rotate their starting XI even with an FA Cup clash against League Two side Accrington Stanley coming up on Saturday.

Yet Liverpool’s injury problems don’t hold a candle to what Tottenham are going through, with Ange Postecoglou confirming the latest fitness updates for the north London side.

Tottenham have just one fit central defender to face Liverpool

Speaking to the press ahead of Wednesday’s clash, the Australian manager confirmed that Tottenham will have just one fully fit and available centre-back in Radu Dragusin, with Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies all out injured.

Postecoglou said when asked about Tottenham’s injuries: “Everyone else from the weekend feels better. Radu’s recovered, Archie’s better. They were the main ones. Deki [Dejan Kulusevski] was a little bit under the weather but he’s good.”

Injuries have been the main cause behind Tottenham’s horrific run of form of late, with Liverpool beating the north London side 6-3 last month in one of the most entertaining Premier League matches of the season so far.

And if Postecoglou refuses to adapt to Liverpool’s tactics on Wednesday, the Reds could enjoy yet another high-scoring win against Tottenham, who were torn apart by the Anfield side during their encounter in December.

MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES

Tottenham could secure League Cup final spot in the first-leg

With Liverpool returning to the English capital having secured two huge results in London against Tottenham and West Ham over the festive period, the Reds will have every right to feel confident about their chances of begging another big win in N5.

And such a win could all-but confirm Tottenham’s place in the League Cup final, a competition Slot will be determined to win as his first piece of silverware as Liverpool manager.

Indeed, Liverpool will be huge favourites to progress against Tottenham, and the north London side could be fearing the worst when the two teams meet once again at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.

Liverpool will be top of the table on Christmas Day and have certainly looked the part under Arne Slot.

Their 6-3 win against Tottenham Hotspur took them four points clear of second-placed Chelsea despite having a game in hand, putting them in a fantastic position in the Premier League title race.

With games against Leicester City at Anfield and West Ham United at the London Stadium on the horizon, the Reds will look to finish 2025 with a flourish.

And their upcoming Premier League clash against the Foxes is the perfect opportunity for Harvey Elliott to get his first start in the competition under Slot.

Harvey Elliott should start for Liverpool vs Leicester City

Liverpool play three Premier League games in a week and will need every last member of their squad to negotiate the festive period unscathed.

Elliott featured in the 2-1 Carabao Cup win against Southampton and put on a fantastic showing as he got his name on the scoresheet in the first half.

The game against Tottenham could’ve come too soon for him after his showing against the Saints, but with Liverpool set to face Leicester at Anfield in two days, Elliott has the perfect chance to shine from the front vs the Foxes.

MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES

His ability to play in between the lines as an advanced midfielder could help the Reds carve open Leicester, who are still finding their feet under new manager Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Slot has options in the centre of the park and could well turn to Curtis Jones if he wants to rotate Dominik Szoboszlai or Alexis Mac Allister, but Elliott is another option who is edging closer to his first Premier League start of the season.

Elliott’s stats this season

Jobi McAnuff described Elliott as a ‘quality’ player after his performance against Southampton as he continues to work his way up to full fitness.

The 2024-25 season hasn’t been kind due to him in terms of injuries, but he’s now back in the team and will look to play a big role in the second half of the season.

Liverpool were clear winners against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday as they delivered a crushing 6-3 win over Ange Postecoglou’s side.

The Reds headed into the game knowing that they would be top of the Premier League at Christmas and proceeded to play like it.

There were some hairy moments against Spurs – as there always are – but Liverpool came out the other end with an impressive win.

One player who has tended to give the Reds something to think about during these match-ups is Son Heung-min.

However, with Son rendered ineffective by the brilliant Joe Gomez and his Liverpool colleagues, the South Korean could not lay a glove on the Reds this time.

And speaking after the game, the Tottenham captain was full of praise for his opponents.

Son Heung-min praises Liverpool

Liverpool’s rivals would have been watching on with real hope that Tottenham could dent their title ambitions on Sunday.

Spurs have beaten both Man United and Man City recently and are a real test for any team in the Premier League.

MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES

But Liverpool started brilliantly and went on to punish Tottenham with six excellent goals.

Son could not get into the game and was eventually taken off with eight minutes to go on the night. Asked by Sky Sports how good Liverpool were, the 32-year-old was left in no doubt.

“There’s no question, they are top of the league,” Son replied.

“You can see quality players and top discipline and I mean, there’s a reason they are top of the league. Any mistake they punish you. Yeah, very, very good side.”

Liverpool top of the Premier League at Christmas

This had indeed looked like a difficult match for Liverpool just before Christmas arrives.

With Chelsea in action earlier on in the day, there was a real chance that the Reds would end up below the Blues before the big day.

However, Liverpool showed exactly why they were still clear at the top with two games in hand with a dominant showing.

As Son says, Liverpool were excellent on the day, with a number of players really stepping up.

And with the end of the year now speeding into view, Arne Slot must be starting to believe that his team are not going anywhere anytime soon.

Liverpool face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday as they look for a return to winning ways in the Premier League.

The Reds have drawn their last two league matches, resulting in them being reeled in to within two points of Chelsea in second-place.

It will not be an easy game away to Spurs, with Ange Postecoglou’s side having scored nine goals over the past two games.

Liverpool lost on their last visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. However, the Reds generally have a good record against Spurs. One loss in 15 matches and two in 25 is remarkable, really.

After what happened with the infamous Luis Diaz VAR incident in North London last season, the Liverpool squad will be out for revenge.

And according to former Spurs striker Darren Bent, they really should get it on Sunday.

Darren Bent backs Liverpool win over Tottenham

Tottenham against Liverpool tends to be one of the Premier League’s most exciting match-ups.

Games between this pair tend to have goals galore, with the last two games at Anfield finishing 4-3 and 4-2 to Liverpool.

MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES

At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the Reds also have a good record. Since visiting for the first time in 2019/20, the Reds have won three, drawn one and lost one of five meetings.

They will be hoping to extend that winning record at the weekend and speaking to TalkSPORT, Bent explained why he thinks Arne Slot’s team will ‘carve through Tottenham’.

“I just think Liverpool have got so much more control with what they are doing under Arne Slot and their attacking quality on the pitch,” said the former striker.

“I just think Liverpool will have too much for them, because they’ll make sure they’re in good shape, good situation and then the attacking players they’ve got, with the gaps that Spurs leave, they will absolutely carve through Tottenham.”

Tottenham team news vs Liverpool

While Slot confirmed that Liverpool will be missing only two players for the trip to face Spurs, Postecoglou is set to be without a few more.

As per tottenhamhotspur.com, the Australian is certain to be without eight first-team players.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is injured, as are Ben Davies, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Mikey Moore, Wilson Odobert and Richarlison.

Meanwhile Rodrigo Bentancur is still suspended and will also miss the game.

During Friday’s press conference Postecoglou revealed that forward Timo Werner could also be ruled out having come down with an illness.

Liverpool travel to Tottenham on Sunday in what is shaping up to be a must-win game for the Reds in the Premier League.

Arne Slot’s side dropped more points on the weekend as Liverpool fought back from behind twice with a man down against Fulham to secure a 2-2 draw, with Chelsea now just two points off the Anfield side in the Premier League standings.

With Diogo Jota again injured for Liverpool, the Merseyside giants will be without some big players for their trip down to the English capital, where Tottenham will be looking for another big win after their 5-0 triumph against Southampton.

And the FA have made a decision on if Rodrigo Bentancur’s ban will be overturned for Tottenham.

Rodrigo Bentancur to miss Liverpool game as Tottenham’s appeal is rejected

As per an official statement from the FA, Tottenham’s appeal to overturn Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-game ban that was implemented last month has been rejected, with the Uruguay international now set to miss this Sunday’s tie against Liverpool.

The former Juventus star was given the ban in November for using a racial slur about team-mate Heung-min Son on television, with Bentancur since missing Tottenham’s last five domestic-based matches.

Noted by Ange Postecoglou as an ‘outstanding’ person via TNT Sports despite the ban, Bentancur’s absence for Sunday will come across as a boost for Liverpool, with the midfielder a regular for Tottenham in recent seasons.

MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES

And heading back to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after what happened last year, Liverpool will be looking for revenge and all three points, with the odds certainly in Slot’s favour heading to north London this weekend.

Slot knows he can’t afford another Premier League slip-up

Having drawn the last two games in the Premier League, dropping more points is the last thing Slot will want with Chelsea in winning form and Arsenal having a favourable tie on Saturday away to Crystal Palace.

And heading to Tottenham, Slot will want to ensure his Liverpool squad get the job done in the most comfortable way possible, with Spurs there for the taking with one of their key players in Bentancur now out for the match.

Indeed, Liverpool have the quality to get all three points against Tottenham with ease, and the Reds know that a win in north London will be huge going into the final festive fixtures leading into 2025.

Liverpool’s reach as a global giant of football can sometimes be underestimated by those close to the club.

Local supporters of course realise how big their club is, but can sometimes be blind to the mass appeal the Reds have outside of Merseyside and the UK.

The success in Liverpool’s history in terms of wining league titles and European Cups propelled them to the very top of the game.

Success breeds support and the trophy-laden period of the 1970’s and 1980’s left many around the world growing up at the time with allegiances towards Liverpool.

Born in 1965, a young Ange Postecoglou was one of those transfixed by the Reds from the other side of the planet in Australia.

Now a manager of some repute and in charge at Tottenham Hotspur, Postecoglou has already fulfilled what must have been a childhood dream of managing at Anfield in May. And while there, the Australian has admitted that he ‘bumped into’ his boyhood hero.

Ange Postecoglou star struck by Kenny Dalglish

According to some reports, Postecoglou was in the running to be Liverpool manager following Jurgen Klopp’s exit last summer.

However, despite his affiliations to the Reds, the 59-year-old never felt like a serious contender.

MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES

Nevertheless, it certainly would have been a special moment for a boyhood Liverpool fan to be installed as manager.

And Postecoglou once again confirmed those allegiances when asked if he’d ever been ‘starstruck’ by someone during a round of 20 Questions for TNT Sports.

“Yeah, all the time,” answered the Spurs boss. “I bumped into Kenny Dalglish who was my hero growing up when I was at Anfield. Those ones always, yeah.”

No chance for Postecoglou to manage Liverpool

While Postecoglou was doing well at Celtic, he had always felt like someone who might have his eye on the Liverpool job in the future.

However, being older than Klopp, it didn’t quite seem to be on the cards for him.

Instead, Postecoglou joined Tottenham where he has done a decent job so far. But with Spurs in indifferent form this season, the former Celtic boss may not be long for the sack.

If that does happen and his time at Tottenham is ended prematurely, then it’s impossible to see how Postecoglou could come back from that to manage a club like Liverpool.

Liverpool supporters will be crossing their fingers for some action in next January’s transfer market.

The Reds had an incredibly quiet 2024 in terms of new player’s arriving and fans will be keen to see that change in 2025.

Only Federico Chiesa was added to the Liverpool squad during the current calendar year, leaving Arne Slot to work with what he’d been left by Jurgen Klopp.

And while it’s so far so good in that respect, it’s clear that some fresh blood would also be welcome at Anfield.

But despite some slight unrest in certain segments of the fanbase over a lack of business, Liverpool still have a great reputation when it comes to making signings.

That has been newly evidenced in Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero publicly praising the strategy of the Liverpool owners while also criticising his own club’s plans.

Cristian Romero makes Liverpool transfer point

Romero has been a terrific signing for Tottenham. Although his injury record has slightly hampered him, the £42m man is one of the best defenders in the Premier League on his day.

Physical, aggressive and a real leader of men, Romero would not look out of place at Liverpool.

MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES

While that seems unlikely to happen, though, the 26-year-old has perhaps thrown his future at Tottenham into doubt with some frustrated comments after Spurs lost 4-3 to Chelsea on Sunday, in which he interestingly mentions Liverpool.

“The truth is, I would say no comment, but… Manchester City competes every year, you see how Liverpool strengthens its squad, Chelsea strengthens their squad, doesn’t do well, strengthens again, and now they’re seeing results,” he told Telemundo Deportes via TalkSPORT when asked about Spurs’ investment compared to their top six rivals.

“Those are the things to imitate. You have to realise that something is going wrong, hopefully, they realise it.

“The last few years, it’s always the same: first, the players, then the coaching staff changes, and it’s always the same people responsible.”

Liverpool could make Cristian Romero play

Although Romero does go on to call Tottenham a ‘beautiful club,’ these do not sound like the comments of a player who is fully happy where he is.

With Liverpool currently in the market for a centre-back, perhaps they should think about a move for the Argentine.

As his contract runs until 2027, there may be a chance to put pressure on Tottenham in next summer’s market.

Some would perhaps argue that Romero is not the profile of defender Liverpool need, especially if Virgil van Dijk stays at the club.

Nevertheless, the World Cup winner is clearly a top player who’s head could seemingly be turned if push came to shove. One to think about, maybe.

Liverpool managed just the two signings this summer in Giorgi Mamardashvili and Federico Chiesa, yet the Reds came close to other deals.

Martin Zubimendi was famously on Liverpool’s radar before the Spanish international opted to reject a move to Anfield to stay with Real Sociedad, where the Basque side have since started the new La Liga season in poor form.

Another player Liverpool were reportedly interested in was FC Midtjylland star Dario Osorio, with the Reds even having a bid rejected by the Danish side in their bid to entice the Chilean international to Anfield.

And Liverpool could now face some competition from Tottenham for Osorio in 2025.

Tottenham to rival Tottenham for Dario Osorio in 2025

According to GiveMeSport, Tottenham scouts have been left impressed by Osorio with the winger currently considered one of the most exciting talents in the Danish Superliga since making the move last year.

Lauded as ‘extraordinary’ by Kevin Mbabu as per Emol, Osorio is already viewed as a future star for the Chile national team having broken through into the senior set-up as a teenager, with the 20-year-old already on 13 caps for the South American nation.

And heading into 2025, there’s a real chance that Osorio could head to the Premier League, with Liverpool having a bid rejected by Midtjylland for the youngster with Tottenham, Brentford and Crystal Palace now in the mix.

And given how unlikely it is that Osorio will become a guaranteed starter at Liverpool next year, moving to a lesser club in the division could be appealing for the Chile international, something that could ruin the Reds’ hopes of landing the attacking prospect.

MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES

Liverpool could realistically lose out on Osorio next year

Liverpool are in a state of transition this year under Arne Slot, with the Dutch coach starting his tenure at Anfield in fantastic form with nine wins in ten games with a squad that is still largely Jurgen Klopp’s.

Yet with Osorio a target, there’s a real chance that Liverpool could miss out on the Chile international given how unlikely it is that the winger will be ready enough next summer to start for the Reds and to compete with the likes of Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota.

And with other Premier League clubs interested, Osorio could be more tempted to move to a side where first-team opportunities are more likely, something that could result in Liverpool missing out on the winger.