Tottenham XI vs Liverpool: Injury Setbacks and Richarlison's Exile
Tottenham head to Anfield for a Carabao Cup tie already loaded with jeopardy, and Roberto De Zerbi’s team sheet underlines just how fragile their situation has become.
Sandro Tonali and Pedro Porro are both out, stripping Spurs of two key pillars on a night when they chase a place in the fourth round and a first win at Liverpool’s home in 15 years. The squad, already frayed by a disrupted pre-season, has taken another hit at exactly the wrong time.
Tonali and Porro ruled out
Tonali, who had started to look like the heartbeat of De Zerbi’s midfield, misses out after picking up a minor knock in the goalless draw with Everton. Porro remains sidelined with the muscular problem that kept him out at the weekend.
De Zerbi confirmed the pair’s absence in his pre-match briefing, a blunt update that underlined the sense of a group running on fumes.
There is at least one welcome return. Destiny Udogie, left out against Everton as a precaution, is back and goes straight into the starting XI. On a ground that punishes hesitation, his energy down the left will be badly needed.
Richarlison left at home
If the injuries sting, the Richarlison situation cuts even deeper.
The Brazilian is fit. He is eligible for the Carabao Cup. He is still not involved.
Frozen out after failing to secure a move away in the final days of the transfer window, Richarlison has been omitted from Spurs’ Premier League squad and remains in limbo. Both player and club tried to engineer an exit. Nothing materialised. The stand-off continues.
De Zerbi did not dress it up. Richarlison would not travel to Merseyside, he said, and “nothing changed for the Carabao Cup or Premier League. The situation is the same.” For a side struggling for goals after back-to-back 0-0 draws with Nottingham Forest and Everton, it is a stark call.
Long-term absentee Dejan Kulusevski is also still out, leaving Spurs short of established firepower and creativity in the final third.
Rotation, risk and a nod to youth
The context makes De Zerbi’s rotation at Anfield feel bold, maybe even a little ruthless.
Martin Dubravka comes in between the posts. Tosin Adarabioyo makes his first start at the heart of defence. In midfield, Lucas Bergvall and Conor Gallagher both get the nod, tasked with knitting together a side that has struggled to find rhythm.
There is also the tantalising prospect of academy winger Luca Williams-Barnett featuring from the bench. De Zerbi hinted there could be minutes for the youngster, stressing the need to give “many players” real game time, even if only for half an hour. On a night like this, those 30 minutes could feel like a lifetime.
Up front, Mathys Tel starts off the left and Omar Marmoush leads the line, with Mohammed Kudus offering invention and menace in support. It is a side that looks fresher, but also lighter on scars and experience in one of the most hostile arenas in English football.
The stakes at Anfield
Spurs arrive desperate. Two straight 0-0 draws have dulled early optimism and raised familiar questions about cutting edge and conviction. A Carabao Cup run will not define De Zerbi’s tenure, but a statement win at Anfield could jolt this season back into life.
Lose, and the narrative of a thin, injury-hit squad and a frozen-out striker will only grow louder.
Win, with this patched-up, rotated XI, and the story shifts in an instant.
Tottenham XI vs Liverpool: Dubravka; Gray, Tosin, Senesi, Udogie; Bentancur, Bergvall, Gallagher; Kudus, Tel, Marmoush
Subs: Kinsky, Robertson, Van Hecke, Maddison, Savio, Fernandes, Solanke, Van de Ven, Davies
Injured: Simons, Odobert, Kulusevski, Tonali, Porro, Mudryk
Unavailable: Richarlison
Kick-off is at 8pm BST. The venue is Anfield. The question now is whether this bruised, rotated Tottenham side can turn a cup tie into a turning point.
