Tottenham’s Anfield Test Comes Without Tonali

LIVERPOOL, England — Tottenham Hotspur will face Liverpool at Anfield in a demanding Carabao Cup tie on Tuesday, with head coach Roberto De Zerbi balancing strict workload management protocols against the physical demands of the early-season fixture.

The club’s revamped medical structure, instituted over the summer, followed a 2024–25 campaign in which widespread injury setbacks severely compromised squad availability. Tottenham appointed Dan Lewindon to lead the medical overhaul, covering load monitoring, injury prevention, and rehabilitation across the first-team environment.

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Sandro Tonali, acquired in a £100 million summer transfer, has been ruled out after sustaining a knock in recent training. De Zerbi did not provide a precise recovery timetable for the Italian international, whose absence requires another reshuffle in the midfield pivot.

“There is no Sandro Tonali because he felt a knock,” De Zerbi stated ahead of the match.

Tottenham also remain without Pedro Porro, who is recovering from a minor muscle issue. His absence leaves a key gap in De Zerbi’s build-up play down the right flank, while forward Dejan Kulusevski continues a lengthy rehabilitation after suffering a severe kneecap injury near the conclusion of the 2024–25 season.

De Zerbi addressed the defensive availability plainly: “Pedro is still not available. Udogie, yes.”

Destiny Udogie was held out of Tottenham’s 0–0 draw against Everton as a precautionary measure to manage his physical load following previous muscle issues. He has since been cleared to travel to Anfield, having also been withdrawn around the 60-minute mark against Nottingham Forest to limit cumulative strain.

The performance operation supporting Lewindon includes Ali James, former England Rugby strength coach Tom Tombleson, and veteran Italian fitness specialist Agostino Tibaudi. Tibaudi previously collaborated with De Zerbi to implement high-intensity conditioning models.

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The restructured department has established rigid boundaries on match fatigue and high-velocity running output. De Zerbi and his staff have prioritized preventative substitutions and squad rotation rather than risking recurring soft-tissue breakdowns, even when matches remain tightly poised.

Those measures were also applied during the goalless draw with Everton, when De Zerbi replaced central midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur and summer arrival Mateus Fernandes shortly after the one-hour mark to protect against overexertion.

Liverpool’s high-tempo style at Anfield routinely tests opponents’ fitness and positional structure. Udogie’s return gives De Zerbi a dynamic option along the left flank, but the simultaneous absences of Tonali and Porro force Tottenham to rely on deeper squad reserves as the club enters the early rounds of the Carabao Cup.