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Arne Slot wants Anfield to be at its fierce best for Liverpool's big Carabao Cup decider against Tottenham Hotspur(Image: Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Liverpool put their pursuit of the Premier League title on hold tonight when they switch their attention to the first of the four trophies they could yet win this season.

Arne Slot's side welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Anfield for a big Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg showdown (8pm kick-off).

Liverpool will be hot favourites to progress to the final for the second season running.



After all, they are 29 points above their opponents in the Premier League table.

But injury-hit Tottenham do have something to defend after they won the first leg 1-0 thanks to a goal from Lucas Bergvall, who controversially escaped a second yellow card moments earlier.

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Little wonder, then, head coach Slot has called for the type of atmosphere that Anfield has become famous for as his side attempts to retain the cup they lifted under Jurgen Klopp, against all odds, by beating Chelsea at Wembley last year.

"The equation tonight is pretty simple - we need to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg if we are to achieve our objective of reaching next month's final at Wembley, in the knowledge that Spurs will have the same ambition," said the Dutchman in his programme notes.

"When the prize is so big and two very good teams share the same aim, it usually guarantees a very competitive game of football and this is exactly what we are expecting.

"This is what we got at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the start of January so it makes sense that, if anything, the desire of everyone involved will only increase given how small the margins are and what is at stake.

"Of course, I was not at Liverpool the last time that the club reached a Wembley final in this competition last year, but I know how special that day was for the players, staff and supporters.

"I have no doubt given what happened on that occasion that it is a day which will be spoken about for many years to come, but our job now is to look to create new memories.

"For that to happen, we will need a big performance, and we will also need Anfield to do what it does best.

It will be the third time our clubs have met already this season so we certainly know each other pretty well.

"I said before the first leg that what happened in our Premier League fixture would have no bearing on that fixture and it gave me no pleasure to be proven right.

Let me be clear, it was not perfect and - as is almost always true - there were definite areas for improvement.

"But in terms of effort, intensity, togetherness and mentality it was a real team performance, the kind of display that we are going to need to repeat tonight and also in the coming weeks and months.

"I said afterwards that what I want from the players and what they want from each other is that they fight in every single game from the first until the last second to get the maximum result and that's what the fans expect from them playing for this club.

"This is what we try to do in every single game and it is also necessary if you want to have any chance of a result in this league or the cup competitions.

As ever, the best way of doing that is by staying together and giving everything we can for Liverpool."

The winners of tonight's tie will play Newcastle United in the final at Wembley on Sunday, March 16 after they beat Arsenal 2-0 at St James' Park last night to complete a superb 4-0 aggregate success.

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