Tonali Out as Spurs Face Liverpool in Carabao Cup Clash

Tottenham Hotspur will head to Anfield without Sandro Tonali after Roberto De Zerbi confirmed the midfielder will miss the Carabao Cup third-round clash with Liverpool through injury.

Tonali, 26, has taken a knock and joins a growing list of absentees for Tuesday night’s game, stripping further depth from a Spurs squad already patched together.

Speaking at Hotspur Way on Monday, De Zerbi ran through a brutal availability update. Dejan Kulusevski is out. Pedro Porro is still sidelined. Then, finally, a sliver of good news: Destiny Udogie is back.

“Kulusevski not available, Pedro still not available, Udogie yes. No Sandro Tonali, he felt a knock,” De Zerbi said, via football.london.

The problems do not stop there. Mykhailo Mudryk, Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert will also miss the trip to Merseyside, stripping away creativity and pace from the visiting bench before a ball has even been kicked.

And then there is Richarlison.

The Brazilian, who pushed to leave in the summer, will not be involved either, despite being eligible to play in the Carabao Cup even though he is not registered for Premier League action.

“Richarlison, you already know everything, so nothing changes with the Carabao Cup or Premier League,” De Zerbi said, underlining that the situation around the forward remains frozen.

He made it clear the issue lies away from the dugout.

“I said last press conference. I know what happened in the last 45 days. It's not right if I explained. It's not my behavior, the relationship. The problem is between the player and the club. I stay within the club. It's coach and club together.

“At the start of this season, I spoke to him many times to convince him to stay, and he didn't want to. I can't go every day to pray for him to stay.”

With Richarlison out of the picture and a string of attackers unavailable, De Zerbi must lean heavily on those still standing. He name-checked Dominic Solanke as a key figure, but also issued a challenge.

“[Dominic] Solanke is a good player. He needs to improve his physical condition and stay positive because he can score many goals with us,” he said.

Omar Marmoush and Savio, he suggested, will be asked to step into bigger roles than they have known before.

“[Omar] Marmoush and Savio were not the protagonist but that is different here.”

Iraola wrestling with Liverpool’s schedule

On the other side, Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola is facing his own selection puzzle, one shaped less by individual disputes and more by the grind of the calendar.

This tie is Liverpool’s third game in seven days. For Iraola, it is the worst possible run in terms of scheduling.

“It's the third game (in seven days) it's the worst scenario in terms of schedule, we haven't been lucky,” he told reporters, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo.

Only after this Cup tie does the pressure ease slightly, with more breathing space before Liverpool face Bournemouth. Iraola pointed to the stark contrast between recent fixtures.

“After this one we have a little bit more before we play Bournemouth and you noticed the gap between Ipswich and Atletico and Atletico and Fulham. It's a big difference.”

He knows he cannot simply roll out the same XI every time and hope for the best.

“We have to get used to it. You can put the same players in every game. The problem is there will be a moment they are really tired, and there is more risk of injury.

“There are players who play every three days and have no issues; they can accept it, and performances don't change too much. Then there are players where the risk is bigger and the performances are different.”

This period, Iraola admitted, is as much an education for him as it is a test for his players.

“And we are in a position where I have to learn who is ready to play and who is ready to rest, so their performance level doesn't drop. I had an idea with some of them, but for some of them it is new as they haven't played as many games before.”

So Anfield will stage more than a straightforward cup tie. De Zerbi arrives stripped of key names and still managing a high-profile stand-off. Iraola walks the tightrope between going strong and protecting legs for the battles ahead.

Whichever manager gets that balance right could find this third-round clash shaping far more than just their Carabao Cup campaign.