Despite themselves, Tottenham managed to make it to the semi-finals of this season’s Carabao Cup by beating Man United 4-3, setting up a semi-final tie against Liverpool, who beat Southampton to reach this stage.
There’s a lot riding on this competition for both these sides for different reasons, but one can safely declare that winning this competition would mean more for Spurs, who are famously trophyless since they won this very title almost seventeen years ago.
Here, we take a look at the last five times these two sides faced each other in the League Cup.
Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham | League Cup 2016/17 Fourth Round
Lots of coincidences pertaining to this one. The most recent encounter between these two sides came about over eight years ago in the fourth round of the League Cup. A brace from Daniel Sturridge ensured that, despite Spurs managing to pull one back through Vincent Janssen (remember him?), they couldn’t muster a comeback.
Now for the coincidence part. In this League Cup campaign, Liverpool were ultimately knocked out in the semis by Southampton, who were in turn beaten in the final by Man United.
Tottenham 4-2 Liverpool | League Cup 2008/09 Round of 16
In this one, Tottenham, the reigning League Cup champions, saw the Reds off in the pre-quarters in emphatic fashion. A brace a piece from Roman Pavlyuchenko and Frazier Campbell ensured there were no nervy moments in this one, even though Damien Plessis and Sami Hyypiä pulled two back for Liverpool.
Of course, Spurs did not defend their crown in this campaign, but in case you have forgotten, they did make the final this year too, only to be beaten on pens by, once again, Man United.
Tottenham 1-1 Liverpool (W) | League Cup 2004/05 Quarter-final
Back in 2004/05, this encounter was capped off by a nervy penalty shootout after a cagey draw, which saw both teams level at full-time with a 0-0 score line, though goals came in the second-half of extra-time courtesy of Jermain Defoe for Spurs (108′) and Florent Sinama-Pongolle for Liverpool in the 117th minute. The Reds went through on pens 5-4.
Liverpool would go to make the League Cup final in this season, where they were beaten by Chelsea in another cagey game that went to extra-time.
Liverpool 1-3 Tottenham | League Cup 1998/99 Round of 16
This was another memorable campaign for the Lilywhites. They comfortably came out winners in this pre-quarter-final tie against the Reds. Steffen Iversen opened the scoring for Spurs inside two minutes before the lead was doubled (by John Scales in the 20th minute) and tripled (by Allan Nielsen in the 62nd minute). Michael Owen did pull one back for the Merseysiders with less than ten minutes of regular time left to play, but in vain.
Spurs would go on to win this League Cup campaign, beating Leicester City in the final.
Tottenham 1-0 Liverpool | League Cup 1984/85 Third Round
Liverpool were knocked out early in this League Cup campaign by Spurs. A sixth-minute goal from Clive Allen was enough for his side to see out the game.
Tottenham didn’t go too far in this season, however. They were knocked out in the Round of 16 by Sunderland, who incidentally would go on to lose the final at the hands of Norwich City.
Conclusion
The fact that Spurs have won three out of their last five League Cup encounters against Liverpool would certainly be something to hold onto, but theoretical reasons for optimism cannot hide away the reality of the two sides as they gear up to face each other in roughly two weeks’ time.
Liverpool are not unbeatable this season by any means, but in their demonstrations as a side exceeding expectations after changing their head coach after almost a decade, Liverpool have established themselves as a team more than capable of putting up a fight against all odds. Regardless of whether his team go behind, or even lose a player, Arne Slot has the ability to tweak things mid-game and give his side a fighting chance.
This is something that should make Spurs very, very worried. Despite having a three-goal lead against Man United, there was belief in the Red Devils’ camp and nerves on the other end, all because of Ange Postecoglou‘s famous “I simply will not change” methods. And, duly, United were able to bring themselves back into the game because their opposition did not have another way of putting pressure on them. Despite having an overwhelming lead they almost capitulated the moment the momentum of the game shifted an iota towards United, which again Spurs couldn’t do much about without the lack of a different directive from the dugout. That Fraser Forster was asked to continue playing out the back and, on another day, could very well have conceded more than two goals because of the ensuing mistakes, is a red flag in more ways than one.
Make no mistake: United lost the game against Spurs because of not only their defensive issues but also their profligacy in front of goal. On another day, a more lethal side should have been able to bury Spurs with or without a score-line deficit.
Well, on another day, a more lethal red side is now due to face Spurs in the Carabao Cup, and while the Lilywhites can be expected to once again remain gung-ho from the first minute to the ninetieth, it would be unreasonable to expect them to maintain 100% concentration levels throughout the game. Liverpool’s defence can be got at, but their front line will also, without a shadow of a doubt, manage to find a chink or two in Tottenham’s armour, enough to do more damage than United did.
The League Cup is Ange Postecoglou’s best chance of ending Tottenham’s 17-year-old trophy drought. Regardless of his long-term suitability for the club, he will go down in the Spurs history books as a cult hero if he could deliver them this piece of silverware. The chances of him managing to beat Liverpool over two legs are very, very slim, but as we always say: you just never know.
