Liverpool manager Arne Slott says Trent Alexander-Arnold is fit to face Tottenham Hotspur in Wednesday’s EFL Cup semi-final first leg after his poor display against Manchester United.
Alexander-Arnold has been linked with a move to Real Madrid this month and was out of sorts in Sunday’s thrilling 2-2 draw at Anfield.
But Slot says the whole squad is ready to respond against Tottenham and highlighted their excellent season so far.
He said: “I think we were all disappointed (for Sunday’s draw with Manchester United) not just Trent Alexander-Arnold, we were all disappointed.
“First of all for the result. Parts of our game we weren’t entirely happy with. It wasn’t just Trent, there were more things we could have done better.
Next, ours #CarabaoCup semi-final first match ✊ pic.twitter.com/ZrwbFI7xcF
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 6, 2025
“Trent didn’t play his best game, but some others didn’t play their best either.
“If you play 50, 60 games in a season, one of them won’t be your best performance. Perhaps we should point out that these players are playing so well despite playing two games in a week.
“I think it will benefit every player (not just Trent Alexander-Arnold – to play again tomorrow). Everyone wants to play. Almost all of them are in shape.”
Liverpool have lost just once all season in all competitions under Slot – to Nottingham Forest – and have won a remarkable 23 of their 28 games so far.
They won the EFL Cup for a record 10th time last season and go into Wednesday’s game at Tottenham as favorites to retain it.
Like Alexander-Arnold, Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk are out of contract this summer, but Slot says they remain focused on winning.
“If Mohamed Salah misses a penalty against Real Madrid, he is distracted by his ‘contract situation’,” said Slott.
“If Trent doesn’t play well, he gets distracted by his ‘contract situation.’
“If everyone is playing well, no one is distracted by their ‘contract distraction.’
“I don’t focus on social media posts or what people say. If you do that as a manager of Liverpool, you won’t have a life because people are always talking about us.”
Team news – Szoboszlai is a doubt
Liverpool have been boosted by the return of defenders Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley, who both featured against United on Sunday.
Striker Federico Chiesa was on the bench for that game and is available, but midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai remains unlikely to play due to illness.
