Arne Slot confirms Trent Alexander-Arnold injury blow ahead of huge Tottenham clash

Liverpool will be without Trent Alexander-Arnold for Thursday's Carabao Cup semi-final clash with Tottenham. The Reds defender picked up a thigh injury during the weekend win over Bournemouth. Alexander-Arnold underwent scans on Monday which did not show up any major damage. But boss Arne Slot is in no rush to risk the defender with Conor Bradley fit to step in for the semi-final at Anfield. Alexander-Arnold will focus on getting fit for next week’s Merseyside derby against Everton, as he is also unlikely to make the trip to Plymouth for the FA Cup third-round clash.

Slot said: “He is going to miss the game tomorrow and we have to see if he is able to play on Sunday. What we do know is he is not available to play tomorrow. I think you saw he left the pitch with a bit of a pain in his leg so that’s why he misses the game tomorrow. “But he’s already on the pitch, not with the team but with the rehab coach so let’s see how long it’s going to take but he’s not going to be available tomorrow.”.

Liverpool host Spurs trailing 1-0 from the first leg but will be favourites to progress with home advantage and their red-hot form while the North London side have been struggling since the first leg last month. Slot said: “I don’t think I have to prepare them differently to any other game because from now until the end of the season. “Liverpool exists like if you wear this shirt you have to win the game so even if we go 1-0 down we want to win the game, that is also what we tried in the away game. We were close to get the result until the last seconds, we were down to 10 and conceded a goal. Nothing changes.”.

Who'll reach the Carabao Cup final - Liverpool or Tottenham? Give us your score prediction in the comments section. Because of the new schedule with Champions League games now in January, it is almost a month from the first leg. Tottenham have added to the squad in the January market with Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel arriving since while key defender Micky van de Ven is back to full fitness. Slot added: “Not that it matters a lot but if you play one week later than normal you face exactly the same team and with all the injuries Tottenham had last time we played them it would have been a bit more in our advantage if we played them one week later - although we lost against the ones that were fit that time.

“They have brought in three players, one of them was there [for the first leg] but now we face two different ones. I wonder if Micky van de Ven is ready to play, he of course has a big impact on their team. It might change the quality we face tomorrow, compared to the last time, but we were already not able to win from the team that played last time. “It is going to be a difficult one we know; if you reach the semi-final against Tottenham you know it is going to be a difficult one but I think we will be better than the last time.”.

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