Tottenham’s objective is clear before Liverpool semi-final as Ange Postecoglou waits for cavalry | OneFootball

Long gap between first and second legs of Carabao Cup tie could benefit Spurs if their walking wounded avoid a heavy defeat at home

A handful of new or returning faces have lifted Tottenham's training ahead of Wednesday's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool, with January signings Antonin Kinsky and Min-hyeok Yang joined by Richarlison and Mikey Moore to give Ange Postecoglou's group a more robust feel for the first time in weeks.

While Kinsky, the 21-year-old goalkeeper signed from Slavia Prague, is in contention to start against Liverpool and Moore could be among the subs, Richarlison is still not match-fit and Yang, 18, is not ready for meaningful minutes.

The reality is that Postecoglou's squad remains stretched to the limit against the Premier League leaders, particularly with midfielders James Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr suspended, and in little better state than for the 6-3 home defeat to the Reds on December 22.

"No, not a great deal has changed," said Postecoglou, who expects to be without 10 first-team players to injuries, illness or suspension.

Postecoglou's squad remains stretched to the limit for the first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

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Postecoglou has poured over the home drubbing by Arne Slot's side two-and-a-half weeks ago, using the display as "a reference point" to plan for what feels like a hugely significant occasion in Spurs' difficult season.

The Australian felt his side did some things "really well" and others "really poorly", but above all he wants his side to handle the big moments better.

Postecoglou was most frustrated by Liverpool's third goal in first-half stoppage-time, a few minutes after Maddison's canny strike halved the deficit and undeservedly dragged Spurs back into the contest.

"You think we’re going in at 2-1, we always finish strong," he said. "And then we conceded a really poor goal. Some of it is just focus and organisation. Those are the kind of things you reflect on. They capitalised. We got really stretched which suited them. There were learnings from it.

"And because it was so recent, you certainly use that as a foundation for the kind of game we need tomorrow in terms of addressing it a bit differently."

Spurs visibly struggled to match Liverpool's energy and their hopes of recuperating during a rare week off ahead of last weekend's defeat to Newcastle were disrupted by a sickness bug, which hit Radu Dragusin, Archie Gray and Fraser Forster, among others.

"We ended up doing more running than we needed to because the game became so stretched," Postecoglou added. "So there are things we need to do better to try and control the game and control how much running we need to do.

"We still want to play at a high tempo and the players are maintaining that intensity. It’s just that against Liverpool you’ve got to have an element of control around it."

New £12.5m signing Antonin Kinsky is in contention to make his Spurs debut on Wednesday

Tottenham Hotspur FC

Spurs lined-up with a back four of Pedro Porro, Dragusin, Gray and Djed Spence last month, with the latter two playing out of position, and it is expected to be the same tomorrow, although Kinsky or Brandon Austin will likely replace Forster between the sticks.

For all his frustrations at Spurs' Premier League form, Postecoglou is wary of being too hard on his players given the patched-up nature of his back line, which will again be missing Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie.

"I've got to temper those frustrations because we've got an 18-year-old, who's not a centre-back, playing centre-back," Postecoglou said. "A left who's not a left-back. A goalkeeper that was not there from the start. There are so many things that are so disjointed in our defensive set up, those things are going to happen."

Holding on for a result at Anfield in the second-leg of a knockout is an approach few opponents would take against Liverpool but for Spurs there is logic in simply staying in the tie and trying to do real damage to Slot's team on February 6.

By then, most of Postecoglou's walking wounded should be fit, while he hopes to sign another forward before the end of the month, as well as possibly a defender.

If Liverpool's gap at the top of the table narrows before the deciding leg (and they face joint-second Nottingham Forest next week), then Slot's view of the Carabao Cup, as well as Postecoglou's options, may radically change in the next month.

"There is a second leg to be played," said Postecoglou, who believes winning the competition could be a huge moment for his young squad.

"That doesn’t change our approach tomorrow. We’re at home and in a two-legged affair, if you can get some kind of advantage in your home game, you are set up pretty well so that’s what we will try to do.

"Our League form is really poor, we need to improve, but we are in a semi-final of a competition and with the group of players we’ve got at the moment, if we can achieve something where they are in their careers, I think it does set you up really well for what we’re trying to build here," he added.

"It’s not the be all and end all, as I’ve said many times, but if we get a final and happen to win a trophy, we’ll look back on this period of where we are, a small group of players having to rise above and beyond to get there, I think that will be as worthy of the achievement as actually winning it."