Tottenham Faces Injury Challenges Ahead of Liverpool Clash
Tottenham head to Anfield on Tuesday night chasing a place in the Carabao Cup fourth round and a much‑needed jolt of confidence. They will do it without Sandro Tonali, without Pedro Porro – and still without Richarlison.
Spurs have gone two games without scoring, back-to-back 0-0 draws with Nottingham Forest and Everton draining momentum from a season that already feels scratchy after a disrupted pre-season. Now comes Liverpool away, a ground where Tottenham have not won for 15 years. The timing is brutal.
Tonali and Porro ruled out
Roberto De Zerbi confirmed that Tonali will miss the tie after picking up a minor knock in the draw with Everton. Porro remains sidelined by the muscular problem that kept him out at the weekend.
Both absences cut into the heart of what De Zerbi wants this team to be: Tonali’s control and bite in midfield, Porro’s thrust from right-back. In a squad already short of rhythm and sharpness, it is another setback.
There is at least one piece of good news. Destiny Udogie returns after being left out against Everton as a precaution. De Zerbi made it clear the full-back is available again and in contention to start.
Richarlison frozen out
Richarlison’s exile continues. Eligible for the Carabao Cup, but not selected. Fit, but not travelling.
The Brazilian pushed to leave Spurs in the summer and was then omitted from the club’s Premier League squad. Player and club tried to engineer a move in the final days of the transfer window, but nothing materialised. The result is an awkward stand-off: a former Everton favourite in limbo, watching on as his team head back to Merseyside without him.
De Zerbi underlined that nothing has changed.
“No, Kulusevski not available. Pedro is still not available. Udogie yes. Richarlison, you already know everything, nothing changed for the Carabao Cup or Premier League. The situation is the same,” he said on Monday.
Long-term absentee Dejan Kulusevski remains out, joining a growing list that already includes Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert and Mykhailo Mudryk.
Rotation, kids and tired legs
The schedule and the injury list almost guarantee rotation. De Zerbi admitted he has “many players” who need minutes, but not necessarily 90 of them. That opens the door for academy winger Luca Williams-Barnett, who could be handed a first taste of senior football at one of the most intimidating arenas in the country.
“I don't know, Luca. We have to see because many players need to play. Maybe not 90 minutes, 90 minutes, but 30 minutes a real game is important. Yes, there is not Sandro Tonali. I forgot to say because he felt a knock,” De Zerbi explained.
The Italian is walking a tightrope. Go too strong and he risks overloading key players already short of full fitness. Rotate heavily and he risks being overrun by a Liverpool side that rarely eases off at home.
Mateus Fernandes, Conor Gallagher and Mohammed Kudus are all still working back towards peak condition. De Zerbi must decide how much to ask of them in a cup tie that sits awkwardly between the need for a result and the reality of the season’s wider demands.
How Spurs could line up
Even with changes, this is no scratch side. Spurs are expected to field something close to the following XI:
Dubravka; Gray, Tosin, Senesi, Udogie; Bentancur, Bergvall, Gallagher; Kudus, Solanke, Marmoush.
On paper, there is enough quality there to trouble anyone. On grass, under the Anfield lights, with confidence fragile and bodies not yet fully tuned, it becomes a different question.
Kick-off is 8pm BST on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. The tie will be shown live on Sky Sports and ITV.
Tottenham arrive wounded, short of goals and shorn of key men. Liverpool away is rarely forgiving. Is this the night De Zerbi’s side finally spark into life, or another harsh lesson in a season that already feels on edge?
