Arne Slot will be forced into at least one change on Thursday night when Liverpool faces Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.

The Reds trail by a single goal from the first meeting four weeks ago and, despite the scoreline, will be favorites to progress to the Wembley final in mid-March. But Liverpool will have to try and beat Spurs without the services of Trent Alexander-Arnold on Thursday.

The defender pulled up early in Saturday’s win over Bournemouth and the injury sustained on the south coast will rule him out of the Tottenham match. “He is going to miss the game tomorrow and we have to see if he is able to play on Sunday,” said Slot ahead of the second leg.

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Without him, Liverpool will almost certainly turn to Conor Bradley, with Slot expected to name a strong line-up for the game. Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate could start at the heart of the defense, although Jarell Quansah hasn’t missed a single minute of the side’s Carabao Cup campaign.

There could also be an alteration at left-back with Andy Robertson perhaps in need of a rest, especially given Slot has often spoken about the importance of rotating his regular starters. If he does drop out, Kostas Tsimikas could start.

Behind the back four, Slot has a decision to make on whether to select Alisson - who started in the first leg - or Caoimhin Kelleher - who has been a regular in the cup competitions this season.

“I know, but the two goalkeepers don't know yet,” was Slot’s coy response to questions in the pre-match press conference. “So if I am going to leave this room, I am going to go to the media next door, and then afterwards, I'm going to inform the goalkeepers which decision I have made.”

In midfield, it’s likely the manager’s preferred three of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, and Dominik Szoboszlai will form the basis of his trio, although Curtis Jones might be an option to return to the starting XI. Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott will probably begin the game on the bench.

As for Liverpool’s attacking options, Diogo Jota might not be fit to start following his recent injury issues, and Federico Chiesa clearly isn’t up to speed yet. Darwin Nunez could come into the starting XI, but Slot sticking with his preferred front three of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, and Cody Gakpo seems the most likely outcome.

Liverpool predicted XI: Alisson; Bradley, Van Dijk, Quansah, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Jones; Salah, Diaz, Gakpo.