Arne Slott believes Ange Postecoglou has given Tottenham back their identity as the Reds prepare to visit north London in the Premier League on Sunday.

Spurs currently sit 10th after an up-and-down season in which they claimed impressive wins over the likes of Manchester City, Aston Villa and Manchester United but have lost seven of their 16 league games so far.

Their inconsistency has led some to question Postecoglou’s attacking approach but Slott, whose Liverpool side are currently top of the Premier League, believes the Australian is moving them in the right direction.

Ahead of Sunday’s clash, the Reds boss said: “I’ve really got to give them credit, if I watch Tottenham, I’m from the Netherlands but I’ve seen a lot of matches.

“You think of Paul Gascoigne, Glenn Hoddle, Gareth Bale. They have always been a certain brand of football and a certain identity for me and Ange Postecoglou has completely given them back that identity.

“Every time it’s fun to watch them, the results go against them at times but I think they’re one of the teams to beat City.”

We drew against Spurs in the semi-finals of the @Carabao_Cup 👊 pic.twitter.com/VWgI4rrlRO

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 19, 2024

Tottenham Carabao Cup Draw

Tottenham and Liverpool will face off over two legs in the New Year after being paired together in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

On the draw, Slott added: “Interesting game but every draw would have been interesting because, I don’t know if it’s always the case in England, but the top four teams are still in the draw so it wasn’t easy. “

Slott reiterated his admiration for Postecoglou, insisting he hopes the 59-year-old lands a long-awaited trophy – but says he hopes it won’t be the Carabao Cup.

He said: “I hope, hope, hope he wins the trophy. Not the league cup but I’m a total fan of his team for the Europa League.

“People talk about trophies, trophies, trophies and that’s very important. For me his brand of football is more important and if he can combine that with winning something that will be great for football in general because then people will say ‘is that Attack too much?’ Can stop talking about?

“How on earth can you play hyper-aggressive football?”

‘Judge the table after 19 games’

Although they have played a game less than their title rivals, Liverpool’s lead at the Premier League summit has been cut to just two points after being held 2-2 by Fulham last weekend.

And Slott says earlier suggestions the Merseysiders were set to run away with the title were premature, claiming they should only be judged when the season reaches the half-way mark.

“As I have said for the last three or four months, judge the table after 19 games because then everyone has played the same opponents.

“Maybe we had a bit of luck, for example Arsenal had a lot of red cards at the start of the season which is why they dropped points.

“We have now received a red card and we have deducted points. We now have Tottenham away from what Arsenal had at the start of the season, Chelsea having already played there.

“Don’t look at it as where you were in the season, it’s about where you are at the end of the season.”

Liverpool team news

Slott says Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley remain out for the Reds, saying: “Those two are still in red, so they’re not training with us at the moment. They are returning but they are not yet training with the team.

“It’s quite difficult (to predict when they’ll be back). Let’s wait and see but we have a very good rehab staff here and they’ve already done a good job with Alison and a few others.

“The main thing is that if they come back they are ready to come back and we shouldn’t focus on one, two or three games. In the long run it is more important that they are fit later.”

Slott’s health seems to be a clean bill apart from those two after Andy Robertson returns from injury.