Anfield is set to witness a high-stakes showdown on Thursday night, with Liverpool chasing a crucial victory that would secure their spot at the final in Wembley next month as the Reds look to defend the Carabao Cup. They're poised to take on Tottenham Hotspur, with a narrow one-goal deficit to overturn from the first leg - thanks to Lucas Bergvall's contentious late decider in the first leg.

Reds boss Arne Slot is facing an uphill battle as he seeks to book his inaugural trip to what he dubs the "iconic" Wembley stadium, with the final potentially set to mark his fist trip to the "home of football" since taking the reins just months ago. While talking at the AXA Training Centre, Slot shared his aspirations: "If you go to England people are talking about Wembley as an iconic stadium, especially if it's a final. So you can be sure that we as a team want to win that game tomorrow to go to Wembley."

Nonetheless, they are up against a recently reinforced Spurs outfit, managed by Ange Postecoglou, who now has the likes of new assets Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso at his disposal. However, Postecoglou faces his own selection conundrum, with a lengthy list of injured players including Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, Guglielmo Viacrio, Brenndan Johnson, Destiny Odogie, Timo Werner, Wilson Odobert, and Radu Dragusin all sidelined for the clash.

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Although with the score line so tight it is crucial that all the refereeing decisions are correctly made, the Liverpool Echo has taken a closer look at how VAR will be used in tonight's semi-final.

Is VAR in use for the Carabao Cup semi-finals?

VAR will be in use at Thursday night's Liverpool vs Tottenham Carabao Cup clash after last year's semi-final relied only on the on-pitch officials. This is because last year saw Championship side Middlesborough reaching the penultimate round, but with only Premier League teams reaching this year's final four the EFL made the decision to bring back the extra referee.

Although VAR will operate slightly differently to the top tier league, for the first time in English football, referee Craig Pawson will be required to announce a VAR decision over the speakers at the stadium.

The trial comes as part of a plan to increase clarity over VAR decisions in football. Should Pawson need an extra look at a decision, he will be required to announce exactly why he has come to his the view.

VAR was used in the first-leg clash, but as always Pawson will only be referred to the monitor by Michael Salisbury if there has been a clear and obvious error.