Slot not changing approach for Tottenham despite first-leg defeat

Arne Slot says Liverpool are expected to win every game, but that he will not prepare for their EFL Cup semi-final second leg any differently despite trailing Tottenham.

Liverpool dominated the reverse leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on January 8, but lost 1-0 thanks to a late goal from Lucas Bergvall, giving Spurs the advantage at the halfway stage.

The Reds have since failed to win just two of their seven games in all competitions (W5 D1 L1), opening up a six-point gap at the top of the Premier League table and finishing at the summit of the league phase in the Champions League.

Liverpool are also unbeaten in their last nine home games in the EFL Cup (W4 D5), winning the last four in a row by an aggregate score of 15-4.

In fact, they have progressed to the final on two of the last three occasions they have lost the first leg of an EFL Cup semi-final, doing so in 2000-01 (vs Crystal Palace) and 2002-03 (vs Sheffield United).

“I don’t think I have to prepare them differently to any other game,” Slot said. “From now on, until the end of the season and as long as Liverpool exists, you need to win the game.

“We were quite close in the first leg until the last few seconds. Nothing changes for this game compared to all the others. There’s only one thing expected of you – to win the game.”

Liverpool have lost just one of their last 27 home games against Spurs in all competitions (W19 D7) and are unbeaten in 14 (W10 D4) since a 2-0 loss in May 2011.

Spurs have suffered an injury crisis of late, with a host of first-team players on the sidelines, though Micky van de Ven was reintroduced to the squad last week, a recovery that could prove vital following Radu Dragusin suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

Slot noted that the four-week gap between the first and second legs means Liverpool are likely to face different tests this time around, but was confident his team could turn things around.

“We face two different players,” Slot added. “I wonder if Van de Ven can play [because] he has a big impact.

“It might change the quality of the team, and we already couldn’t win [the first leg], so it will be difficult. But we will be better than the last time too.”