Liverpool vs Tottenham: Iraola to rotate for Carabao Cup tie

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola will assess his squad before Tuesday's Carabao Cup third-round tie against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield, with a congested fixture schedule forcing rotation decisions.

Georgi Mamardashvili is confirmed to start in goal, marking his first appearance of the 2026-27 campaign. Iraola praised the goalkeeper, noting he had tried to sign him for Bournemouth before moving to Liverpool.

"I think it [the workload] has to affect, definitely, because it's the third game. It's the worst scenario – it's game, two days, game, two days, game," Iraola told reporters on Monday.

The Liverpool head coach outlined the challenge of managing players through a dense run of fixtures. "There are players who play every three days, they have no issues, they are very robust," he said. "And there are other players where the risk is bigger, the performances are different."

Iraola added that he is still building knowledge of his squad's physical limits. "I have it in my mind quite clear with some of them but with others it's new even for them because they haven't played as many games and we are learning."

Defender Joe Gomez has recovered from a pre-season muscle injury and is available for selection. Iraola confirmed it is now a matter of managing his minutes.

Conor Bradley, Federico Chiesa, Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni remain unavailable through injury.

Liverpool's last outing was a 0-0 draw with Fulham on September 12, while Tottenham drew 0-0 with Everton on the same date.