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Liverpool will aim to respond to their Premier League setback against Manchester United with a resounding performance and victory when they go to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup first leg on Wednesday - with memories of last month's big win there still fresh in the mind.

The stats suggest the Reds will cause serious problems for Spurs' depleted backline - just as they did when they hit six goals in north London in December.

Liverpool may have been pegged back for a 2-2 draw by Manchester United on Sunday but they once again produced a threatening attacking display, with 19 shots at Anfield.

In fact, their Expected Goals total of 2.8 means they are averaging 2.36xG per game in the Premier League this season.

That is far and away the most of any side in the division.

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It's so impressive, Jurgen Klopp only topped that total once across a whole season during his time in charge.

How Arne Slot shapes up his team for this first leg will be intriguing to see but he has his full array of attacking options to choose from.

The season's top attacker Mohamed Salah - who struck twice at Spurs in December - will no doubt be chomping at the bit to play his part and add silverware in what he says looks to be his final year at the club. He started the 6-3 league win at Spurs alongside in-form Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz - who also bagged a brace at Spurs.

A fit-again Diogo Jota will be vying with Darwin Nunez for involvement, too, while Federico Chiesa will be keen to make a belated impact.

How Spurs' Ange Postecoglou would love to have that kind of selection headache.

His side's list of absentees is around the double-figure mark but it is in defence where there is cause for concern ahead of this important cup tie.

They were down to the bare bones when Liverpool last came to town and the situation has worsened rather than eased since then.

Their 2-1 defeat to Newcastle on Saturday reflected their struggles at the back right now.

Stand-in goalkeeper Fraser Forster was laid low by a bug, which also affected centre-backs Archie Gray and Radu Dragusin, who was forced off at half-time. Regular left-back Destiny Udogie is still out with injury and his replacement Djed Spence later had to fill in at centre-back.

First-choice centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven remain sidelined and Ben Davies is still unavailable.

Newcastle took advantage. They scored twice from an xG total of 2.45.

That's the fifth time Spurs have allowed an opposition side to pass the 2xG mark this season. Every instance has come in the past injury-dogged nine games.

Indeed, only rock-bottom Southampton have racked up more xG against in the Premier League since November.

Goals conceded, shots faced and xG against are all up for Spurs over the past couple of months as they struggle with their shortages.

The hope will be Fraser, Dragusin and Gray shake off the illness which dogged them going into that match. In midfield, Rodrigo Bentancur will be back from suspension. But another chastening defeat at the hands of a hungry Liverpool attack will be the fear of Spurs fans heading to the stadium on Wednesday night.

How Tottenham could hurt Liverpool…

And yet, perhaps there is hope at the other end.

Spurs scored three past Liverpool during the chaos of that pre-Christmas clash, although Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke goals came too late, following James Maddison's first-half hit.

Slot referenced how United's transition play hurt his side at Anfield - just as Nottingham Forest and Fulham had done there.

While Spurs won't sit back in the same manner those clubs did on their away days on Merseyside, Postecoglou's men rank third in the Premier League for direct attacks and fourth for direct speed up the pitch. It is that quick transition from back to front which is the Postecoglou way - and has been shown to unsettle Liverpool's rearguard this term.

Spurs don't play as many long balls per game as Fulham (49), United (49) and Forest (50), with an average of just 32 this season. So the question will be whether they can couple the required physicality and passing precision to cut through Liverpool on the counter, given their injury issues.

Certainly, Tottenham supporters will be hoping that, for the second time in the space of a week, an opposition team can pull off an unexpected result against Slot's Liverpool side.

Tottenham have exercised the option to extend Heung-Min Son's contract to keep him at the club for an additional 12 months until June 2026.

The South Korea forward and club captain's deal was due to expire in June, meaning Spurs were at risk of losing him on a free transfer at the end of a decade-long spell in north London since signing from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015.

Barcelona were one of a number of clubs rumoured to be looking at signing him this summer, but the 32-year-old will now remain at Tottenham for at least another year.

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Son has long-since been the top-scoring Asian player in Premier League history and is the third-top scorer of players still active in the competition, behind only Jamie Vardy and Mo Salah.

He has reached double figures in the top flight in each of the last eight seasons and shared the Golden Boot with Salah in 2022, but has found form harder to come by during this campaign, netting only five goals so far and two in his last 11 Premier League appearances.

Son has scored 169 goals in 431 appearances for Spurs in all competitions.

"We are delighted to announce that we have exercised the option to extend Heung-Min Son's contract, which will now run until the summer of 2026," read a statement on Tottenham's website.

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Tottenham have signed goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky from Slavia Prague.

Spurs will pay £12.5m for Kinsky, who is a Czech Republic U21 international and has agreed a deal that runs until 2031.

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Spurs have serious issues in goal with first-choice Guglielmo Vicario out injured and Fraser Forster among those who missed Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Newcastle due to sickness, leading to Brandon Austin, 25, making his senior club debut in the defeat.

Kinsky has kept 12 clean sheets in the Czech First League across 19 league appearances for table-topping Slavia Prague this season.

What are Spurs' plans for the January transfer window?

Tottenham are looking to strengthen their squad this January in a variety of positions given injuries to key players and the decline of form as a result.

Although he has done well under the circumstances, playing Archie Gray at centre-back has not been ideal, so this is one area the club are looking to add depth, as well as in the forward positions and central midfield.

They wanted Conor Gallagher, or someone like him, in the summer, while Timo Werner was brought in on a loan deal in the winger positions rather than permanently, and the injuries to Richarlison and Wilson Odobert have left them short of options.

Spurs want those players back and competing for a place, and in particular Richarlison, who has no desire to go anywhere in January himself, Sky Sports News understands.

A controversial Anthony Gordon equaliser followed by Alexander Isak's winner saw Newcastle come from a goal down to beat Tottenham 2-1 for a sixth consecutive victory in all competitions.

After Dominic Solanke's fourth-minute opener, Spurs were left fuming with Gordon's sixth-minute leveller after the ball hit Joelinton's hand in the build-up but VAR allowed the goal to stand because "his arm was by his side, in a natural position and the contact was accidental".

Ex-Premier League referee Mike Dean agreed with the decision on Soccer Saturday as Joelinton's alleged handball "did not lead directly to a goal" after the deflection fell to Bruno Guimaraes before Gordon expertly finished past Spurs debutant Brandon Austin.

'Angriest I've been in my career' - Ange fumes over Joelinton handball call

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It meant Eddie Howe's fifth-placed side piled more misery on injury-ravaged Tottenham - who finished the game without a recognised centre-back - to leave Ange Postecoglou's side winless in their last six Premier League home games and in the bottom half of the table in 12th putting them closer to the relegation zone than the top four.

New England head coach Thomas Tuchel, attending his first match as Three Lions boss, would have been delighted to see two English players score the first two goals in north London as Solanke headed Spurs into a fourth-minute lead.

But just 140 seconds later Gordon controversially equalised despite a lengthy VAR check for Joelinton's alleged handball.

A furious Postecoglou then saw his side lose their momentum as Newcastle turned up the pressure which eventually told in the 38th minute as Isak maintained his red-hot form with a scrappy close-range finish to score for a seventh consecutive Premier League game.

Postecoglou's injury issues then worsened as full-back Djed Spence moved to centre-back for the second half after Radu Dragusin was substituted at half-time taking the Spurs absentee list into double figures.

Despite a patched-up defence, Spurs did push for a second-half equaliser as Brennan Johnson hit the post while substitutes James Maddison and Sergio Reguilon both put efforts wide.

But Newcastle held on for a perfect start to 2025 to move a point behind fourth-placed Chelsea and heap more pressure on Postecoglou.

Both sides can now look ahead to their Carabao Cup semi-final first legs, with Newcastle going to Arsenal on Tuesday and Tottenham hosting Liverpool on Wednesday - both live on Sky Sports.

Ange: Angriest I've been in my career

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou in his post-match press conference on the Joelinton handball decision:

"All I'll say is that on any other day, on a fair and even playing ground, we would have won that game. Simple as that.

"And don't keep asking me about the decision. If you guys have no opinion about it, that's fine. I know what my opinion is.

He added: "Considering everything we had to go through and the situation we're in right now, to put on a performance like that, I take my hat off to the players. I thought they were outstanding.

"I'm just really, really angry, as angry as I've ever been in my career, that they were denied the right rewards for a fantastic performance."

Asked to clarify whether he was angry at the officiating: "I know you just want me to say something, but I'm not going to. I think it's clear. Whether people agree with me or not, you think it wasn't handball or it was accidental or whatever, I'm just not interested in any of that discussion.

"What I'm saying is that on any given day, with a fair and even playing field and logical thought processes, we would have won that game. That's it. You can make what you want of that. I don't know what else to say about it."

Howe: Gordon's goal right to be given

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe in his post-match press conference on the Joelinton handball decision:

"I can't sit here and lie and say I haven't seen it, because I have. It definitely hit Joelinton's arm - I can give you that as well - but I'm not in control of the referee's decision.

"I believe that his arm's down in a natural position. And I think the referee and the VAR have followed the rules and protocols that are in place, so that's why it's given."

Asked on Postecoglou's comments that Spurs deserved to win: "I thought we were dominant in the first half today. I thought it could, and possibly should, have been more in that first-half period.

"Yes, Tottenham played well in the second half and they brought on some quality players and pushed us back at times.

"But we did enough to get over the line."

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A controversial Anthony Gordon equaliser followed by Alexander Isak's winner saw Newcastle come from a goal down to beat Tottenham 2-1 for a sixth consecutive victory in all competitions to move level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea.

After Dominic Solanke's fourth-minute opener, Spurs were left fuming with Gordon's sixth-minute leveller after the ball hit Joelinton's hand in the build-up but VAR allowed the goal to stand because "his arm was by his side, in a natural position and the contact was accidental".

Ex-Premier League referee Mike Dean agreed with the decision on Soccer Saturday as Joelinton's alleged handball "did not lead directly to a goal" after the deflection fell to Bruno Guimaraes before Gordon expertly finished past Spurs debutant Brandon Austin.

As it happened | Teams | Match stats

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It meant Eddie Howe's fifth-placed side piled more misery on injury-ravaged Tottenham - who finished the game without a recognised centre-back - to leave Ange Postecoglou's side winless in their last six Premier League home games and in the bottom half of the table in 11th leaving them closer to the relegation zone than the top four.

New England head coach Thomas Tuchel, attending his first match as Three Lions boss, would have been delighted to see two English players score the first two goals in north London as Solanke headed Spurs into a fourth-minute lead.

But just 140 seconds later Gordon controversially equalised despite a lengthy VAR check for Joelinton's alleged handball.

A furious Postecoglou then saw his side lose their momentum as Newcastle turned up the pressure which eventually told in the 38th minute as Alexander Isak maintained his red-hot form with a scrappy close-range finish to score for a seventh consecutive Premier League game.

Postecoglou's injury issues then worsened as full-back Djed Spence moved to centre-back for the second half after Radu Dragusin was substituted at half-time taking the Spurs absentee list into double figures.

Despite a patched-up defence, Spurs did push for a second-half equaliser as Brennan Johnson hit the post while substitutes James Maddison and Sergio Reguilon both put efforts wide.

But Newcastle held on for a perfect start to 2025 to heap more pressure on Postecoglou as both sides now look ahead to Carabao Cup semi-final first legs, with Newcastle going to Arsenal on Tuesday and Tottenham hosting Liverpool on Wednesday - both live on Sky Sports.

Story of the match in stats...

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Tottenham have agreed a deal to sign goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky from Slavia Prague.

The 21-year-old will fly into London on Saturday and have a medical on Saturday evening.

Spurs will pay £12.5m for Kinsky, who is a Czech Republic U21 international.

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Spurs have serious issues in goal with first-choice Guglielmo Vicario out injured and Fraser Forster among those who have caught a sickness bug in the last week.

Kinsky has kept 12 clean sheets in the Czech First League across 19 league appearances for table-topping Slavia Prague this season.

What are Spurs' plans for the January transfer window?

Tottenham are looking to strengthen their squad this January, looking at a variety of positions given injuries to key players and the decline of form as a result.

Although he has done well under the circumstances, playing Archie Gray at centre-back has not been ideal, so this is one area the club are looking to add depth, as well as in the forward positions and central midfield.

They wanted Conor Gallagher, or someone like him, in the summer, while Timo Werner was brought in on a loan deal in the winger positions rather than permanently, and the injuries to Richarlison and Wilson Odobert have left them short of options.

Spurs want those players back and competing for a place, and in particular Richarlison, who has no desire to go anywhere in January himself, Sky Sports News understands.

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