The goals are still not coming for Tottenham Hotspur, with four straight matches to enter the year without finding the back of the net — and with few true missed opportunities within them. Unfortunately, this is not exactly a new feeling, but the thought (or at least hope) was that refreshing Roberto De Zerbi’s front line would finally solve the team’s glaring weakness; so far, no dice.
Tucked between these four goalless Premier League outings is one small encouragement. It took 40 minutes to warm
up, but Spurs did log five goals against Charlton near the beginning the season. Obviously, this was not the country’s toughest opponent, but that League Cup tie was the best showing so far, so perhaps a return to that competition can reignite the spark.
Tuesday’s trip to Anfield is a much different animal than the last round, but it is unlikely that Liverpool features its best options, with the Champions League underway and a lot to prove after a poor season in the league last year. With no Europe, it would be nice to stay alive in this cup, though that feels like the less likely outcome for the visitors.
League Cup Third Round
Date: Tuesday, September 15
Time: 3:00 pm ET, 8:00 pm UK
Location: Anfield, Liverpool
TV: Paramount+ (US), Sky Sports Main Event (UK)
Matches against Liverpool rarely go well, regardless of competition. These sides met in the League Cup Semis two seasons ago, with Lucas Bergvall’s goal in the first leg completely eviscerated by four Liverpool tallies at Anfield. The result was more encouraging last year, however, with Richarlison’s late road equalizer earning Tottenham a key point in the fight for survival.
Optimistically embracing rotation
Though Spurs are likely to rotate as well, the dropoff between best XI and Tuesday’s starters is probably felt more dramatically by the home side. Of course, none of De Zerbi’s rotational options are immense goal threats themselves, but there is a clear need to infuse some new energy right now, and this fixture actually comes at a time that might be helpful.
Liverpool cannot care much about this affair, and maybe that ends up bringing a little chaos. The Reds will be still looking to aggressively press, and this is a chance for some eager Tottenham attackers to take advantage of vacant spaces if (when?) Spurs can get the ball up the pitch. I would not expect a ton of goals, but I bet there will be some decent opportunities at least.
Pessimistically sighing
Even with last season’s miraculous draw, going to Anfield is never going to bring many positive feelings. Liverpool may also be off to a somewhat slow start, but it is still more encouraging than Tottenham’s, and the talent gap always feels apparent in these meetings, even if rotation lies ahead. The home side should test the Spurs defense much more than the past two weeks; a third straight clean sheet feels quite unlikely.
The midfield is what draws the attention, as transition play will probably dictate the result. Even possession itself is a bit of a question mark, as the losses to start the year showed Tottenham really struggling to have any sort of sustained build-up play. Liverpool is going to aggressively cause discomfort with Spurs on the ball and this could easily be a frustrating 90 minutes.
Realistically being real
Minor improvements are fine, but still it is fairly unexciting to keep just waiting for things to magically get better. For De Zerbi, it feels like such a battle to unlock the right combination of attackers that will finally get this front line to where it needs to be. Rotation likely does not help that cause on Tuesday, but perhaps the nature of a midweek, early round cup tie is what helps provide some needed freedom.
Liverpool is not looking like a top side on the continent, though that does not offer Spurs supporters a ton of comfort. Exiting the competition at Anfield is not a failure, and by no means is Tuesday anything close to a must win. Until we see Tottenham able to score, let alone win, it is hard to realistically expect too much at this point in the season.
