On Tuesday October 25th, Liverpool will host Tottenham in the fourth round of the EFL Cup. Â The last two runners ups of the competition meet in a clash between two of the top teams in the Premier League, with only a point separating the two.
After sweeping Burton Albion and Derby County out of the competition by a combined 8-0, Liverpool now meet their first Premier League team in the tournament. Â With another Premier League against Crystal Palace on the horizon, it will be interesting to see what kind of team Jurgen Klopp picks.
With European commitments keeping Spurs out of the second round, they have faced only Gillingham. Â They swept Gillingham away rather easily, winning the match 5-0. Liverpool will pose a significantly tougher test for the north London side. Â Similar to Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino will likely prioritise the upcoming Premier League fixture, so his team selection could be very interesting.
Team News
Liverpool look like they should have a full team going into the match, though Georginio Wijnaldum will likely not start as he continues to get to full match readiness after recovering from an injury.
Spurs will be missing two key players from their team in Harry Kane and Toby Alderweireld, although it’s likely neither of these two would start even if they were fit. Kane is reportedly back in training, but will likely not be risked in a match like this. Alderweireld will miss out as he continues to recover from his knee injury.
Interesting Statistics
- Tottenham are the only team in the Premier League not to concede from open play in league play this season.
- They’re also the last undefeated team remaining in the Premier League.
- Spurs haven’t beaten Liverpool since November 2012, but haven’t lost any of their three meetings.
- Liverpool are the joint highest scorers in the Premier League, with their 20 goals in nine matches only matched by Manchester City.
- While they’ve conceded eight goals away from home, Liverpool have only conceded three goals in four matches at the new expanded Anfield in the Premier League.
Key Players
Liverpool: Daniel Sturridge
With Sturridge seemingly out of form and out of favour at the moment, Klopp could take this chance to start him up front and attempt to play him into form. Â An in-form Daniel Sturridge is one of the best strikers in the country and, as we’ve seen time and time again, he’s capable of scoring from anywhere at anytime. Â The Englishman has the quality to give any defence the runaround, much less a Spurs defence that will likely be rotated.
Tottenham: Vincent Janssen
Janssen has struggled to get off the mark in England, with his only goal coming from the penalty spot in the last round of this competition. Â The Dutchman was brought in as cover for Harry Kane, but has currently lost that spot to Son Heugh-min. Â While the South Korean has done reasonably well there, Pochettino will want to get his young, Dutch striker settled as soon as possible.
Prediction
As these matches often are, the favourites will be heavily dictated by what kind of team each manager selects. Â Liverpool do have the home advantage and enough depth, specifically up top, to get them enough goals to get through.
