Liverpool vs Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur heads to Anfield Stadium on Thursday night for the second EFL Cup semi-final against Liverpool while leading 1-0 on aggregate.

The teams will bring elevated spirits following their respective 2-0 away victories in the Premier League which altered the competition scenarios at its upper and lower regions.

The first semifinal match between Spurs and Tottenham Hotspur by Lucas Bergvall has elapsed for about one month since the dramatic last-minute goal into Spurs' one-goal advantage.

Bergvall secured his crucial winning goal for Tottenham only to barely dodge a red card when he aggressively knocked Kostas Tsimikas late in the match. Liverpool together with their head coach Arne Slot acknowledged their team's substandard showing during the game in North London.

A majority of soccer fans expect Liverpool to produce a dramatic comeback during the return match this week thus reaching their 15th appearance in the final round of this tournament.

The EFL Cup victory under Jurgen Klopp during the previous season became Liverpool's tenth triumph in the competition ahead of his departure while the bookmakers currently favor Liverpool for title retention despite the first-leg deficit and Newcastle United's position in the other semi.

This match demands a two-goal victory as Liverpool has managed 15 consecutive home wins since their September defeat by Nottingham Forest during which they scored multiple goals in each encounter and secured 13 victories.

During their Final Title Championship pursuit in 35 years the Reds secured a vital road win by defeating in-form Bournemouth 2-0 at their home ground while the Cherries produced various challenges against Liverpool throughout the matchup.

Only a few days after winning the first league stage of the Champions League, Liverpool maintained a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a double from the always dependable Mohamed Salah.

With a trip to Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup the weekend following this one and the rescheduled Merseyside derby against Everton at Goodison Park, Liverpool's next three games will be crucial to preserving their prospects of pulling off an unprecedented quadruple.

Anfield has been a challenging ground for Spurs in recent years, as they haven’t secured a victory there since 2011. In their last 14 visits, they’ve managed only three draws. However, even a draw this time would be sufficient to propel them into their fourth final since their last triumph in the competition back in 2008.

It’s been a positive week for Postecoglou and his team. They secured a 2-0 league win against Brentford, climbing from 16th to 14th in the standings. This followed a comfortable victory over Elfsborg in the Europa League, which sealed their place in the last 16. Notably, three young players found the net in that match.

Despite ongoing criticism of Postecoglou’s tactics and the team’s injury woes, Spurs have shown defensive resilience, keeping four clean sheets in their last eight games. While two of those shutouts came against Elfsborg and Tamworth, their ability to hold strong against formidable attacks like Liverpool and Brentford deserves recognition, even if their defensive vulnerabilities were exposed in recent matches against Everton and Leicester City.