Tottenham do not simply need to win at Anfield. They need to score.
That is what makes Liverpool vs Tottenham far more dangerous for Roberto De Zerbi than an ordinary Carabao Cup third-round tie.
Spurs have gone through their first four Premier League matches of the 2026/27 season without scoring a single goal — the first time in the club’s history that has happened. They have only two points, sit 17th, and were booed off after Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Everton. Now they travel to Anfield, where Liverpool are also searching for a response after being held goalless by Fulham.
The difference is psychological.
Liverpool’s problem is that a heavily assembled attack has not yet fully clicked under new manager Andoni Iraola.
Tottenham’s problem is much more severe: they have forgotten what scoring feels like.
And tonight, one goal could change everything for De Zerbi — or make the pressure around him almost impossible to ignore.
Liverpool vs Tottenham Is a Test of Two Different Problems
On paper, this is a cup tie between two Premier League giants.
In reality, it is a meeting between two teams trying to discover their attacking identity.
Liverpool remain unbeaten under Iraola, but their league record tells a more complicated story: draws against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, a win at Ipswich Town, followed by Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Fulham.
The Champions League has provided a different picture.
Liverpool beat Atlético Madrid 2-1 at Anfield last week, recovering from Marcos Llorente’s opener through Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister. Mac Allister’s second-half strike completed the comeback and gave Iraola a winning start to his Champions League managerial career.
But three days later, Liverpool looked flat against Fulham.
They had 14 shots and roughly 1.2–1.3 expected goals depending on the provider, but could not find the net. Fulham actually had four shots on target to Liverpool’s three.
Iraola’s explanation was revealing.
The Liverpool manager believes the problem begins with the team’s pressing from the front. When forwards fail to win the ball high enough, Liverpool recover possession too deep, meaning their attacks begin with more opponents between them and goal.
That is an important clue for Liverpool vs Tottenham.
Because Tottenham are desperate for exactly the opposite.
They need Liverpool to give them opportunities.
Tottenham’s Goal Drought Has Become a Psychological Problem
De Zerbi has already used the phrase that perhaps best explains Tottenham’s situation: a mental block.
The Italian acknowledged after the Everton draw that four games without a goal and four games without a win were becoming psychologically difficult for his players.
That matters because Tottenham’s problem cannot simply be solved by buying another attacker.
The club already spent heavily during the summer and brought in 10 new players. Yet the new attacking pieces have not immediately produced the chemistry De Zerbi expected.
Sávio, Omar Marmoush, Mohammed Kudus, Mathys Tel and Dominic Solanke all represent different attacking qualities.
But a collection of attacking talent is not automatically an attacking system.
That is the central challenge facing De Zerbi.
His football demands coordination. Players must understand when to receive between the lines, when to stretch the opposition, when to attack the box and when to counter-press immediately after possession is lost.
When confidence disappears, those movements become slower.
The player hesitates.
The pass arrives late.
The striker makes the wrong run.
The winger receives the ball with fewer options.
And eventually the entire attack becomes predictable.
That is what Spurs must escape tonight.
Liverpool vs Tottenham: Why Solanke Could Be De Zerbi’s Biggest Decision
Dominic Solanke is potentially the most important player in this match.
Not because he is guaranteed to score.
Because Tottenham need him to become the reference point of their attack.
De Zerbi has publicly defended the striker, insisting that Solanke can return to the level he showed at Bournemouth. The manager also knows him from his time at Brighton and clearly believes the striker has the technical and mental qualities required for his system.
But Solanke’s situation is complicated.
A striker can only thrive when the team consistently supplies him with the right type of service.
If Spurs are circulating the ball slowly outside the penalty area, Solanke becomes isolated.
If crosses arrive without enough bodies attacking the box, he becomes predictable.
If midfielders fail to break defensive lines, he is forced to drop deeper.
And once a striker starts doubting himself, every missed opportunity becomes heavier.
That is why Liverpool vs Tottenham could be about much more than whether Solanke scores.
De Zerbi needs Solanke to look like a striker who expects to score.
Even one early goal could change the emotional temperature around Tottenham.
The Richarlison Decision Makes the Situation Even More Interesting
There is another layer to Tottenham’s attacking crisis.
Richarlison is available for the Carabao Cup under the competition’s eligibility rules, but De Zerbi has confirmed that he will not play against Liverpool.
That is significant.
Richarlison has previously been productive against Liverpool, and his omission removes one of the few players in the squad with an established scoring history in this particular fixture.
De Zerbi has explained that he tried repeatedly to convince Richarlison to remain at Tottenham, but the player wanted to leave during the summer. The transfer never materialised, and the forward was subsequently left outside Spurs’ Premier League squad.
SEE ALSO; Richarlison vs Tottenham: The Contract Crisis That Could Change How Premier League Transfers Work
Whatever happens behind the scenes, the footballing consequence is obvious:
De Zerbi has chosen to solve Tottenham’s goal problem without Richarlison.
That makes tonight even more important.
If Solanke scores, the manager’s decision gains credibility.
If the attack fails again, questions about squad management and attacking options will become louder.
Liverpool’s Rotation Could Give Spurs Their Opening
There is one major factor working in Tottenham’s favour.
This is not expected to be Liverpool’s strongest XI.
Iraola is managing a demanding schedule and has openly discussed the need to assess which players can cope with matches every three days. Giorgi Mamardashvili is expected to replace Alisson in goal, while young players such as Trey Nyoni and Lewis Koumas could receive opportunities.
That changes the tactical calculation.
Liverpool’s first-choice players may provide superior intensity and experience.
But rotation can create unfamiliar combinations.
A young midfielder may take an extra touch.
A reserve full-back may be less aggressive in possession.
A new defensive partnership may not step forward at exactly the same moment.
Tottenham’s job is to attack those moments.
They do not need to dominate Anfield.
They need to create chaos.
The Tactical Battle: Can Spurs Attack Liverpool’s High Press?
This could be the defining tactical battle of Liverpool vs Tottenham.
Iraola wants Liverpool to recover possession high up the pitch.
That means Tottenham must have a plan for the first pass after winning the ball.
If Spurs play slowly from the back, Liverpool can squeeze them.
If Tottenham repeatedly lose possession in their own half, the pressure will become overwhelming.
But if De Zerbi can create quick vertical combinations through the midfield, Spurs can potentially attack the spaces Liverpool leave behind their advancing full-backs.
That is where players such as Kudus and Sávio could become crucial.
They have the acceleration to turn one successful transition into a genuine chance.
The problem is consistency.
Tottenham cannot spend 90 minutes waiting for one counterattack.
They need to create a repeatable attacking mechanism.
That means:
- Solanke must occupy the centre-backs.
- Wide players must attack the spaces outside Liverpool’s defensive line.
- Midfielders must arrive beyond the first defensive line.
- The first pass after winning possession must be forward whenever possible.
- Spurs must counter-press immediately when attacks break down.
Without those elements, their possession will simply become sterile.
And Tottenham have already shown how damaging sterile possession can be.
Liverpool vs Tottenham Could Become a Trap for Iraola Too
It would be easy to make this entirely about De Zerbi.
That would be a mistake.
Liverpool have their own problems.
The 0-0 draw with Fulham exposed an attacking unit that has not yet found its rhythm. Opta-based data from the match showed Liverpool generating chances but failing to convert them, while Iraola criticised the intensity of his forwards without the ball.
The manager’s football depends on collective movement.
The forwards press.
The midfield compresses the pitch.
The defenders push higher.
The team wins possession.
Then the attack begins again.
But when one part of the chain breaks, the whole structure becomes less effective.
That is why Tottenham’s best strategy might not be to sit completely deep.
Spurs could actually benefit from forcing Liverpool into a more open game.
The more transitional the match becomes, the greater the possibility of Tottenham creating the one moment that ends their drought.
Anfield Is Another Psychological Barrier
Then there is the stadium itself.
Tottenham have not won at Anfield in 17 matches, according to the latest pre-match reporting.
That is a remarkable psychological obstacle.
And history has not been kind to Spurs in recent League Cup meetings either.
Liverpool eliminated Tottenham 4-1 on aggregate in the 2024/25 League Cup semi-final, including a 4-0 victory at Anfield in the second leg. Tottenham failed to register a shot on target in that second leg.
That history matters because Tottenham are arriving at Anfield at precisely the wrong psychological moment.
They are already struggling to score.
They are already struggling to win.
Their confidence is fragile.
And they are facing a Liverpool side that knows how to punish hesitation.
But football history can also create an opportunity.
If Spurs score first, suddenly the narrative changes.
The crowd becomes nervous.
Liverpool’s rotated team faces pressure.
Tottenham’s players gain belief.
One goal could become two.
That is the opportunity De Zerbi has to chase.
Why De Zerbi May Actually Survive Even If Spurs Lose
The title asks whether De Zerbi can survive the night.
But losing this game should not automatically mean the manager’s position becomes untenable.
The more important question is how Tottenham lose.
If Spurs lose 2-0 after creating nothing, the pressure becomes enormous.
If they lose 3-2 after producing a dynamic attacking performance, the interpretation is completely different.
If they score twice but are eliminated after extra-time or penalties, De Zerbi could actually leave Anfield with more confidence than he arrived with.
This is because Tottenham’s immediate problem is not simply points.
It is belief.
The manager needs evidence that his players understand the system.
He needs evidence that the new signings can operate together.
And most importantly, he needs evidence that Tottenham can create and finish chances.
That is why the first goal could matter more than the final score.
Liverpool vs Tottenham: What Each Manager Needs Tonight
For Iraola, this match is about rhythm and depth.
Liverpool have invested heavily in their squad, and the Carabao Cup is an opportunity to test players without overloading the core of the team.
The Reds have already shown they can recover from difficult moments, particularly in the Champions League against Atlético Madrid.
But Iraola also needs his attacking structure to become sharper.
For De Zerbi, this is different.
He needs proof.
Proof that Solanke can lead the attack.
Proof that Kudus, Sávio, Marmoush and the other attacking players can operate within his structure.
Proof that Tottenham can turn possession into danger.
And, above all, proof that the psychological block he identified can finally be broken.
The Bigger Question Is Not Whether Spurs Score — It Is What Happens After
Suppose Tottenham score tonight.
The goal drought ends.
The headlines change.
The pressure drops.
But that does not solve everything.
The real test comes after the celebration.
Can Spurs score again?
Can they create five or six genuine chances rather than one?
Can Solanke stay involved?
Can their midfield support attacks?
Can their wingers consistently enter dangerous positions?
Those are the questions that will determine whether this is the beginning of De Zerbi’s Tottenham project or simply a temporary escape from the crisis.
A single goal can change confidence.
It cannot build a team by itself.
Verdict: De Zerbi Needs More Than a Goal at Anfield
Liverpool vs Tottenham is a strange cup tie because both managers need the same thing — attacking clarity — but only one team is carrying the weight of a historic scoring drought.
Liverpool can afford another imperfect performance.
Tottenham cannot afford another night where their forwards disappear.
De Zerbi has already acknowledged the mental dimension of the problem. He has pushed his players through video analysis, extra shooting work and tactical sessions designed to improve their final-third decision-making.
Now the theory meets the biggest test yet.
Anfield.
A rotated Liverpool side.
A competition where one poor night means elimination.
And a Tottenham attack desperate to hear the sound of the net.
For De Zerbi, the perfect outcome is not merely to survive Liverpool vs Tottenham. It is to leave Anfield believing Tottenham finally know how to attack again.
That is the real night Spurs need.
And perhaps the night De Zerbi needs even more.
What do you think — will Tottenham finally score at Anfield, or will Liverpool expose the deeper problems in De Zerbi’s project?
