Liverpool are back in action in the League Cup tonight as they prepare to play host to Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final.
The Reds have had their focus turned to the Premier League and the Champions League in recent weeks and secured a 2-0 win over in-form Bournemouth in the top-flight in their last match.
Mohamed Salah’s double sealed all three points for the league leaders against the Cherries, to help them bounce back from their 3-2 defeat to PSV in Europe last week.
The Reds are currently six points clear at the top of the Premier League, after that win over Bournemouth, but Arne Slot and his team will be eyeing multiple trophies in the second half of the season.
They still have the Premier League, the League Cup, the Champions League, and the FA Cup trophies to compete for in the next four months.
However, they will need to overcome a deficit against Tottenham Hotspur this evening at Anfield, after they lost the first leg of the semi-final
tie in North London.
What happened in the first leg between Liverpool and Spurs
The only goal of the game was scored by Swedish teenager Lucas Bergvall in the 86th minute of the match, to seal a 1-0 win for Ange Postecoglou’s side on the night.
Dominic Solanke made a great run in behind the Liverpool defence and displayed great strength to hold off Ibrahima Konate before laying a pass off to Bergvall, who swept the ball into the bottom corner under pressure from Virgil van Dijk.
1-0 to Tottenham was not an entirely fair reflection of how the game went, however, as both teams had plenty of chances to find the back of the net and failed to do so.
Possession
40%
60%
Shots
9
14
Shots on target
3
6
Big chances
4
3
Free-kicks
10
8
As you can see in the table above, both sides had ‘big chances’ to score and only Spurs managed to take one of them, as Liverpool failed to score from 14 shots and three ‘big chances’.
These statistics show that it was an open game that was full of opportunities to test both goalkeepers and Slot may hope for a similar match, albeit with more chances for his side, tonight to make sure that his forwards have the ammunition they need to shine.
With this in mind, the Dutch head coach could ruthlessly ditch Alexis Mac Allister from the starting line-up for this clash with Spurs this evening, in order to bolster his attack.
Why Alexis Mac Allister could be dropped
The Argentina international started in the 2-0 win over Bournemouth last time out and struggled in the middle of the park with Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch alongside him.
Mac Allister played the opening 61 minutes of the match and failed to register a shot on target or a ‘big chance’ created, which shows that he did not offer much at the top end of the pitch for the Reds.
The former Brighton & Hove Albion man also lost four of his five duels, being dribbled past once, and did not make a single tackle, interception, block, or clearance to help the team out of possession.
These statistics show that Mac Allister endured a frustrating afternoon against the Cherries, as he failed to offer much on or off the ball, and that may have been why Slot decided to remove him from the game with 30 minutes left to play.
Appearances
22
4
Starts
20
2
Goals
1
0
Assists
3
0
Key passes per game
1.4
1.0
As you can see in the table above, the tempo-controlling midfield star has not offered a big threat in the final third throughout the season in the Premier League or the EFL Cup.
The Argentine whiz, who has averaged 3.3 tackles and interceptions per game in the Premier League, is not in the team to provide a constant stream of goals and assists, hence why he has only managed four goal contributions in 22 top-flight games.
Chalkboard
However, Liverpool are halfway to being knocked out of the League Cup at the semi-final stage and need goals tonight, which is why he should be ruthlessly ditched in favour of Curtis Jones.
Why Curtis Jones should be unleashed
The 24-year-old star should be unleashed from the start alongside Szoboszlai and Gravenberch for this second-leg clash with Spurs because he has the quality on the ball to make things happen in the final third.
Liverpool need goals, given that they are 1-0 down on aggregate, and Jones could use his ability at the top end of the pitch to carry them to Wembley for the final.
Jones has registered an assist in both of his last two appearances for Liverpool, against Lille and Bournemouth, and that means that he heads into tonight’s game in fine form, whilst Mac Allister struggled last time out against the Cherries.
The Liverpool academy graduate replaced the Argentine maestro at the weekend and went on to assist Salah’s second goal of the game, which was just the latest in a growing pile of goal contributions for him this season.
Starts
10
4
3
Goals
3
0
0
Big chances created
0
3
1
Assists
3
2
1
Pass accuracy
95%
92%
95%
As you can see in the table above, the England international has provided an impressive level of production in front of goal in limited starts across all competitions this season.
Jones, who has been described as “extraordinary” by Micah Richards, has been directly involved in nine goals in 17 appearances, including six in ten Premier League games.
These statistics suggest that the Englishman would be far more likely to make a difference in the final third than Mac Allister against Spurs tonight, which is why Slot should bring him into the starting XI to carry the Reds to Wembley.
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His ability to score and create goals from a midfield position could help Liverpool score the goals that they need to overcome Tottenham’s one-goal advantage.
