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Iraola targets Carabao Cup progress with Liverpool as Tottenham visits Anfield
15th September, 2026 07:14 PM
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has called on his side to respond positively to a demanding fixture schedule when Tottenham Hotspur visit Anfield in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday night, September 15, 2026.
The Reds enter the competition at the third-round stage, hoping to extend their remarkable record in a tournament they have lifted a record 10 times.
The meeting with Spurs also gives Liverpool an opportunity to bounce back from their disappointing Premier League outing at the weekend, when they were held to a goalless draw by Fulham.
Short recovery period
Iraola acknowledged that the short recovery period between matches will continue to test his squad throughout the campaign and believes his players must learn to cope with the demands.
“I said after Saturday’s draw against Fulham that we need to adapt to the challenge of playing fixtures close together and tonight’s game gives us a chance to start taking steps on that journey,” the head coach writes in his notes for the official matchday programme.
“There is no point making excuses or complaining about the time that we have to recover. This kind of situation is going to happen many times this season, so we have to face it and make the best of it.
“This doesn’t necessarily mean I expect us to be at our very best in every single game that we play, but we should certainly be aiming for higher performance levels than we were able to reach at the weekend and we should also be finding ways to win.”
Liverpool targeting success across all fronts
With Liverpool targeting success across several fronts, Iraola stressed that managing the demanding calendar will be essential.
“I say this because we want to be playing in the Champions League for as long as we can this season and we also want to be in the cup competitions for as long as we can.
“In these circumstances, adapting to a quick turnaround in games is clearly not only something we want to be good at – it is an absolute necessity.
“Football will not wait for us either so the sooner we can meet this challenge the better. Ideally, that would be tonight because that would definitely improve our chances of making it through to the next round of the Carabao Cup.”
The Liverpool boss also underlined the club’s long-standing connection with the competition, saying that its history provides additional motivation for the players.
“This is a competition, like all of the others, that we want to do well in. This will be the same for all of the participating clubs, of course, but our history in the Carabao Cup in all of its many guises gives us an extra incentive because we know what it means to Liverpool and to our supporters.”
Iraola had yet to make a final decision on his starting line-up when he wrote his programme notes, with player fitness, training and the wider demands of the week all expected to influence his selection.
“At the time of writing these notes, it is still too early to say which team I will select. This will depend on so many factors like recovery, how we train, the availability of players and the wider demands of this week as a whole, but the one guarantee I can make is that the team will be picked with the aim of giving us the best chance of making progress.”
The Spaniard also hinted that some players who have featured less prominently this season could be given an opportunity against Tottenham.
“We have a number of players who deserve more minutes than I have been able to give them up to this point so that will come into my thinking, particularly as we also have players who have already given a lot.
“But as I said, whatever team takes to the field will be one that I fully believe is ready to perform and equipped to take on a Tottenham team which also wants to reach the next round.”
Playing at Anfield is another factor Iraola believes Liverpool can use to their advantage.
“The advantage we have is that we are at home. I have spoken many times of the advantage that Anfield can give to us – but only if we use it in the right way. We know that if we push as a team the people will be with us. That is a given.”
He urged the Liverpool faithful to play their part in helping the team overcome Tottenham, insisting that the support inside Anfield should be viewed positively rather than as an additional burden.
“Every single Liverpool supporter who attends tonight’s game will be doing so because they want to see us perform and to give us as much help as possible to do that.
“This is not a pressure, it is a privilege, one that we should and will embrace, not just tonight but in every game that we play,” he said.
