Liverpool vs Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou must carefully target Reds’ few weaknesses if Spurs are to reach Carabao Cup final | Football News

Liverpool extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 19 games by defeating Bournemouth on Saturday.

They’ve barely put a foot wrong all season, underlined by a predictably quiet Deadline Day, where zero business was done and Arne Slot’s players were given time to enjoy two rare days off.

Slot had been clear on his stance throughout January. He trusts his squad and is happy with the options he’s got in reserve too. Federico Chiesa remains the only outfield addition to arrive at Anfield in the past three windows and yet Liverpool are in the strongest position they’ve been for years, with money safely stashed for summer spending.

Their next assignment is a Carabao Cup semi-final second leg meeting with Tottenham on Thursday, live on Sky Sports, and based on the strength of their recent conviction many will expect Slot to make a favourable outcome look straightforward.

But there have been signs, however few and fleeting, that Liverpool can be got at.

Ange Postecoglou will attempt to poke holes in Slot’s plan much in the same way his side did in the reverse leg – a 1-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – which formed part of a less convincing run of form for the league leaders.

The loss came after a 2-2 draw with Manchester United before needing to rescue a point at Nottingham Forest. Liverpool don’t have many weaknesses and the emphasis, therefore, on an airtight game plan which combines good decision-making with composure and clarity is what Spurs need most on Thursday.

Forest and Man Utd are two of three teams – alongside Fulham – to travel to Anfield this season and avoid defeat, and the bravery of those three performances should provide the basis for Postecoglou’s strategy.

Surely Tottenham’s best hope is to make the tie fraught and unsettling, carefully choosing the moments to be pragmatic but equally progressive. That’s not to say Liverpool can’t fight fire with fire but if Postecoglou’s setup is polite enough to allow the hosts to press at full pace they risk being taken apart piece by piece.

Despite winning 2-0 at Bournemouth on Saturday, Liverpool set season-lows for sequences and pass success in their own half – linking to the Cherries’ high press – and needed a penalty to break the deadlock.

Ryan Gravenberch was forced to man-manage Justin Kluivert and it reduced his efficiency in moving Liverpool forwards. The sacrificial midfielder made a weekend-high seven tackles.

Bournemouth still hit the woodwork twice – both entries came from Kluivert passes – and created three ‘big chances’, as many as Liverpool did.

An inability to cope with the strategic positioning of a No 10 who can play between the lines has hurt Liverpool this season and placing Gravenberch in a much more defensive-minded role on Saturday was evidence of such. Perhaps, then, some lessons have been learnt but there’s takeaways for Tottenham to consider too.

Both Fulham in mid-December and United in early January forced Liverpool far deeper than they are comfortable playing at Anfield, using width in advantageous areas to drag players out of position, while the foremost striker stayed high to create gaps.

Alex Iwobi and Bruno Fernandes were the dominant playmakers on each occasion.

Jamie Carragher examined Man United’s success on Monday Night Football, identifying how Fernandes’ invasive positioning was vital to pinning Liverpool back. Slot didn’t see it coming.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – who will miss Thursday’s game through injury – was constantly caught between Diogo Dalot and Fernandes while Amad had the beating of lethargic Andy Robertson, attracted inside to help, on the opposite side.

Front-footed Dejan Kulusevski is more than capable of playing the same role in a targeted approach, taking advantage of Liverpool’s weaker right-hand side. Each of the four goals Liverpool conceded at Anfield in January came down the opposition left (three crosses, one corner).

Two of the three they shipped in defeat at PSV last week also came via that same route.

In the home leg of this tie 29 days ago it was Lucas Bergvall who nearly profited from charging Alisson, forcing the mistake before Pedro Porro sliced inexplicably wide. Postecoglou fell to his knees on the touchline but the reprieve arrived in the 86th minute when 18-year-old Bergvall stroked home the winner after Dominic Solanke had bullied Ibrahima Konate off the ball.

Incidentally, it was Richarlison – in Solanke’s injury absence – who registered the most pressures (45) of any player across gameweek 24 as Spurs beat Brentford 2-0 at the weekend.

And it’s that same bullishness that Postecoglou’s side must embrace at Anfield. To allow Liverpool to settle would be to surrender control and in all likelihood concede the result too.

Spurs might be depleted by injuries. They might think that lightning will never strike twice. But the one-off nature of the upcoming 90 minutes surely suits their gung-ho style better. They play like there are no consequences most weeks, and on this occasion, there aren’t really. So be exciting, be aggressive.

After all, Spurs have won more cup games (10) than Premier League games (8) this season, while Postecoglou has joined a very select pool of managers who have masterminded a win over Slot since his arrival in England.

Liverpool might be the best team in the league, with the most complete squad, and an impressive command of their destiny in all four competitions but they are not unbeatable – if only Spurs had an applicable blueprint for how…

Watch Liverpool vs Tottenham in the Carabao Cup semi-final, live on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event from 7pm on Thursday.