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In many ways it would be easy to write off Tottenham Hotspur. Between their apparently never -ending injury crisis and an impressive capacity to drop points of winning positions, their 14th place in the Premier League means that they embody the underdog more than usually against Liverpool on Thursday. Nevertheless, they are in the unlikely position to wear an advantage on the way to the second stage of the EFL Cup semi -finals (you can view the promotion live Paramount+) – And just 90 minutes away from their first cup final in four years.
In the midst of the chaos of their season, Spurs Liverpool only handed their second loss of the season a month ago with a narrow 1-0 victory in the first stage, giving them the surprise of the preview on Anfield. The margin of one goal is not a safety net, although a place in the semi -final only offers the opportunity for Tottenham to find the silver lining in their otherwise boring season. As bad as their competition position is, Spurs have done extremely well in their cup competitions -not only are they within the moving distance of the EFL Cup final, but they finished in fourth place in the League phase of the UEFA Europa League and his To the next round of the FA Cup.
The rough season of Tottenham has surprisingly transformed them into a team that can – and should prioritize Cup competitions, a decision that would not only make the disappointing results of this season feel as a side issue. If Spurs give priority to silverware and actually come across the finish line, the trophy-dried that this team followed could finally end as a shadow, making the game on Thursday an almost Make-Or-Break game for their season.
How to look and opportunities
- Date: Thursday, February 6 | Time: 3 pm etc.
- Location: Anfield – Liverpool, England
- Live stream: Paramount+
- Chances: Liverpool -425; Sign +600; Tottenham Hotspur +900
Can a trophy make the season of Spurs a success?
The EFL Cup is not exactly the most prestigious trophy that Tottenham can win this season – that is still the Europa League, which can be the secondary club competition of Europe, but is still a difficult tournament in itself. For a team like Spurs, whose trophy-dry is well documented, every trophy means something and this would mean a lot, not just because it would end the 17-year waiting time for a title.
At this point in the season, Tottenham is perfect in the middle, fixed in the banal part of the rankings where the qualification for European competition is probably excluded and relegation is unlikely. The perfect way to cheer up an overwhelming season is to win a trophy, especially one that would book the champion a place in the UEFA Conference League Playoff round.
It can also offer some new confidence to the group, because the final on 16 March with two months of play is still left on the calendar. Lifting the EFL cup would probably offer a widely appreciated moral boost, which may only help the Premier League of Spurs so to be so much, but can be useful if they make deep runs in the Europa League and the FA Cup. Winning the EFL cup can even be a rehearsal for bigger things that are still coming, and that is especially true if their injured players start to work their way back to fitness.
For manager Ange Postecoglou specific, a trip to the Wembley Stadium next month and the medal of a winner will be delivered with an extra advantage – he would be right about his statement in September that he “always wins things in his second year.”
Tottenham’s challenges against Liverpool
The benefits of a trip to Wembley are clearly for Tottenham, but everything comes with the obvious reservation-they still have 90 minutes for them against a cool Liverpool team at home, and a one goal lead leaves no room for Errors. One could suggest that Postcoglou is taking a pragmatic approach for the umpteenth time this season with a place in a cup final on the line, but that forces the question: what exactly is a pragmatic approach in these circumstances?
Defensive resilience is not a bad idea, but overly emphasis on the back line may not pay in the long term. The form of Mohamed Salah alone means that the Reds are difficult to bet against every day of the week, and where to form for Tottenham this season, they will be again in the back line without major players. First-Choice Center Back Cristian Romero still provides a hamstring injury and Postecoglou has chosen not to risk Romero’s partner, Micky van de Ven, while he brought his way back from his own hamstring problem. Radu Dragusin tore his ACL last week, so Tottenham will probably give the new signing Kevin Danso his debut and will link him together with veteran Ben Davies.
In fact, a balance that ensures that the attack of Spurs can cause opportunities, perhaps the best way forward – and actually fits well with Postcoglou. It is actually a strategy that the manager has successfully used this season, despite accusations that he is tactically inflexible. Tottenham’s 4-0 Routing from Manchester City In November is also a perfect example. They gave the possession to the city and only took nine shots, but set seven on goal and generated 2.51 expected goals, finding a way to combine opportunities for goals, even without openly prioritizing their attack. That is essentially the lesson of the 4-0 aggregated victory of Newcastle United over Arsenal in the other EFL Cup Semi-Final-de Magpies may have had a 2-0 win over the first legs in Wednesday’s game, but they chose Before not resting on their laurels and managed to score two more goals on one of the best violations in Europe.
Spurs may or may not prefer to come to the top on Thursday, but in the midst of a season of imperfections, they are surprisingly well positioned to engage a great performance. The task for Postecoglou and the company is not to waste it and adding a new layer of acidity to an unpleasant season.