Tottenham vs Liverpool - Preview, Best Bets & H2H Record
- JN Value Betting
- Jan 7
- 3 min read
BEST BETS:
MOHAMED SALAH - TO SCORE ANYTIME - 20/21 (BET365) - 2PTS
DJED SPENCE - OVER 2.5 TACKLES - 6/5 (BET365) - 2PTS
DJED SPENCE - OVER 3.5 TACKLES - 11/4 (BET365) - 1PT
DJED SPENCE - OVER 4.5 TACKLES - 5/1 (BET365) - 0.5PTS
Following on from playing out game of the season so far, Tottenham and Liverpool go to battle once again, this time in the Semi-Finals of the Carabao Cup. Trophy-shy Spurs will be hoping to bring a first trophy home after a 17 year drought - with manager Ange Postecoglu under pressure to deliver his promise of silverware in his second season. Arne Slot will be hoping to replicate the success of last season, and his predecessor Jurgen Klopp by winning the EFL Cup. The current holders head into this one with only 1 defeat in 28 matches this season and will be confident of getting the better of Tottenham over two legs.
Goals looks the order of the day once again here, where these two sides have shared 42 goals across their last ten meetings with both teams scoring in the last nine head-to-heads. As expected there is no value in the goals markets here, with Both Teams to Score & Over 2.5 Goals being best priced 1/2.
Spurs' squad has been ravaged by injury and illness in recent weeks and will likely be forced to field a makeshift defence once again. Meanwhile, Slot has kept his cards close to his chest as far as team selection is concerned. However, with Accrington Stanley up next in the FA Cup, this could allow for a stronger lineup to be utilised on Wednesday night. Given the likelihood of a stronger team selection from Slot, I am happy to take the price on offer for Mohamed Salah to score anytime. Salah is yet to be handed a start in the EFL Cup this season, but as the stakes are raised, I feel he could be rewarded with a start. The Egyptian has scored in four of his last five appearances against Spurs and has managed six goals in those four scoring appearances - this has always been an enjoyable fixture for Salah with 11 goals in 15 appearances against Tottenham in a Liverpool shirt. The 20/21 on offer for him to find the net is generous considering Salah's scoring record this season, with him scoring in 18 of his last 20 starts.
Providing that there is no further injury or illness issues within the Spurs squad ahead of this one, Djed Spence should retain his place at left back, given the absentees throughout the Tottenham ranks. Spence was forced into an unconventional cameo at centre back in Saturday's defeat to Newcastle. However, Ange Postecoglu has been positive about the chances of Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray being available for this one - therefore, Spence should be utilised at full back, once again. One angle which I was happy to take advantage of in the aforementioned defeat to Newcastle was that of Djed Spence to make tackles, and the same looks to be on the cards here. Spence completed three tackles inside half an hour on Saturday, before being forced into his switch to centre half at the break. He is averaging 3.27 tackles per 90 this season, with him completing 3+ tackles in 4 of his 5 starts for Spurs this season - this includes completing five tackles in the league fixture against Liverpool just 18 days ago. The opposing left back or left wing-back against Liverpool has completed at least 3 tackles in 7 of Liverpool's last 15 matches - this is 7/13 when Salah starts for Slot's men. Should Spence start at the same rate as he did on Saturday, a full 90 minutes at full back should give him a good chance of completing enough tackles for us.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
LAST 5 MATCHES:
22/12/2024 - Tottenham 3-6 LIVERPOOL (Premier League)
05/05/2024 - LIVERPOOL 4-2 Tottenham (Premier League)
30/09/2023 - TOTTENHAM 2-1 Liverpool (Premier League)
30/04/2023 - LIVERPOOL 4-3 Tottenham (Premier League)
06/11/2022 - Tottenham 1-2 LIVERPOOL (Premier League)
