Many people believe that the prospect of reaching a cup final is the small glimmer of hope which has kept Ange Postecoglou his job as manager at Tottenham.
The Australian has suffered an extremely difficult few months as Tottenham head coach but has been credited with the difficulties he has had to face, with Tottenham suffering over a dozen injuries to first team players during this time period.
The club finds itself in an unfamiliar position, sitting 14th in the Premier League table with just 14 games remaining, but still in all three cup competitions, as they desperately aim to finally end their 17-year trophy drought.
A much-needed win against Brentford on Sunday is perhaps a result that has caused more relief among the fan base than any other game in recent years. Not only has these eased Tottenham’s pressurising position in the Premier League, but it will have also given them confidence approaching their return leg at Anfield - which they carry a 1-0 advantage into.
This lead is slim but critical, as facing arguably the best team in the world currently away from home, will be an extremely tall order.
Liverpool have only lost once at Anfield this season, which was against Nottingham Forrest back in September. Since then, they have established their dominance domestically and in Europe, comfortably topping the Premier League and the inaugural Champions League table.
Arne Slot’s debut season in charge has been nothing short of sensational, as they remain in the hunt for all four trophies, as we enter the final three months of the season.
If Tottenham are to progress to their first cup final since 2021, it will require a vast level of organisation and tactical discipline to keep Liverpool at bay.
However, they have enjoyed many memorable victories in this competition over the last ten years and maybe Thursday’s visit to Anfield will be the most memorable yet.
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Sheffield United 2-2 Tottenham (2-3 aggregate), 2015
In 2015, Tottenham were drawn to play Championship side Sheffield United in the League Cup semi-final. These match ups always have the potential to be banana skin games, due to the vast incentive fuelled by electric atmosphere, when underdog sides make it to the latter stage of domestic competitions.
In the first leg, Sheffield United were resolute defensively and Tottenham found it very tough to break down Nigel Clough's side, despite dominating possession. Eventually, the deadlock was broken when Andros Townsend's penalty gave Spurs a much needed advantage to take into the second leg, which ended up being a chaotic and dramatic roller coaster of a tie.
The atmosphere at Bramall Lane was astonishing and the Blades were full of belief, having already knocked out Premier League sides West Ham and Southampton en route to the semi-final.
Despite the immense pressure from the home fans, Tottenham did manage to get a foothold in possession early on and Christian Eriksen silenced the hosts after 15 minutes with a sublime free kick from 25 yards, which curled towards the far left post, thumping off the woodwork into the net.
Despite their deficit being increased, it was vital for the Blades that they persevered to prevent any further damage and really looked to optimise their spare opportunities to provide any hope of a come back.
Che Adams, who had previously played just 136 minutes of professional football, having recently signed from Ilkeston Town, provided a lifeline in the 77th minute. After Ryan Flynn's cross from the right wing eluded everyone in the box, the ball fell for Adams at the back post, who finished with a low right footed effort, to beat Michel Vorm, who was scrambling back across the goal.
Just two minutes later, Blades' winger Jamie Murphy found himself one-on-one with Jan Vertonghen as he approached the Tottenham penalty area from the right wing. Murphy's skilful footwork wrong footed the Belgian and allowed him the space to deliver the ball to the far post where Adams was waiting once again.
The winger brought the ball under control and cut inside before striking the ball powerfully towards goal. Eric Dier desperately attempted to make a last ditch block but could only divert the ball away from the helpless Vorm, into the left corner, the stadium erupted in disbelief.
It seemed as though all the momentum was with the Championship side as they looked to capitalise on their resurgence. However, this led to lack of defensive awareness, which handed a major opportunity to Tottenham in possession, in the 88th minute. Harry Kane received the ball on the right side of the pitch, just inside the opposition half.
As he turned, Eriksen had anticipated the Blades' high line which left room in behind the defence. Kane managed to pick out the Dane with a perfectly weighted through ball and Eriksen managed to place the ball back across goal with a sumptuous, first-time left footed finish.
This time, Tottenham learned from their lessons and weren't complacent in holding their advantage and managed to endure United's late onslaught in search of an equaliser. Tottenham subsequently qualified for the final, the first they had reached in six years. The first significant moment, for a team which went on to be arguably the best the club has ever produced.
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Arsenal 0-2 Tottenham, 2018
North London derbies are always fierce and intense no matter what the context. In the 2018/19 campaign, Arsenal hosted Tottenham for the chance to progress through to the semi-final stage.
Like every visit to the Emirates, the Tottenham players were jeered and booed by the Arsenal faithful in their thousands every time they were in possession.
This relentless pressure did cause Mauricio Pochettino's side to struggle early on, gifting Arsenal the first clear cut chance of the game, when Henrikh Mkhitaryan was put through one-on-one with Paulo Gazzaniga, but the Argentine reacted very well to the Armenian's near post shot and managed to quickly get down to his right hand side to palm the ball away from danger.
Midway through the half, the Lilywhites begun to settle and a long ball upfield from Gazzaniga suddenly caught the Gunners' defence slacking. Lucas Moura managed to beat Sokratis Papastathopoulos to the ball in an aerial duel. Dele Alli latched on to this and swiftly spotted the run of Son Heung-Min in behind the Arsenal defensive line, and managed to pick out his team mate with a delicate, lofted through ball and the South Korean did what Mkhitaryan couldn't and calmly converted his one-on-one opportunity.
A few weeks prior, the sides met in the Premier League and despite taking a 2-1 lead, Tottenham capitulated, with the home side running away 4-2 winners.
This time they looked a lot more assured defensively and once again a chance arose from Gazzaniga playing the ball long from the back. Substitute Harry Kane was completely unmarked on the halfway line and had the time to bring the ball under control and deliver a flighted pass over the defence to Alli, who this time was making the perfectly timed run in behind as he raced towards Petr Cech's goal.
Alli brought the ball down in his stride and beautifully chipped the ball, on the half volley, over Cech as the stadium watched in slow motion, followed by the inevitable chaos that ensued in the away end as the net rippled.
Arsenal failed to construct any clinical moves together, having attacked so emphatically against Spurs a few weeks prior, and their North London rivals took revenge as they gained one of their most pleasantly remembered victories in the history of the League cup.
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Tottenham 4-3 Manchester United, 2024
The match which resulted in Tottenham getting to their current position against semi final opponents Liverpool was a truly iconic one.
Having dismantled Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford earlier on in the season, Tottenham started the game in similar style, creating multiple opportunities in the early stages.
In the 15th minute, their efforts were rewarded when Dominic Solanke opened the scoring with a rebounded effort, following a powerful shot from Pedro Porro that Altay Bayindir failed to push to safety.
Very similarly to their Premier League encounter, Kulusevski doubled Tottenham's advantage very shortly after half time. James Maddison's cross should not have caused any real threat to the United defence, but rather clearing the ball to safety, Lisandro Martinez carelessly stuck out a leg to prevent the ball reaching Solanke.
This just redirected the ball within the danger area, inviting Kulusevski to pounce on the opportunity and thump home Tottenham's second.
Just seven minutes later, Djed Spence, who really seems to have reignited his Tottenham career during the injury crisis, played a long ball down the left wing to Solanke. The Englishman shrugged aside Martinez and cut inside onto his right foot, gaining space from the Argentinian defender. Jonny Evans tried to come to the aid of his centre back partner, but Solanke cleverly struck his low-driven shot through the legs of Evans, into the bottom left corner.
At 3-0, Tottenham seemed out of sight, but two moments of catastrophe for goal keeper Fraser Forster, very quickly turned the game on its head. Both mistakes came from Postecoglou's often criticised approach to play out from the back.
Twice in the space of eight minutes, the former Southampton keeper was dispossessed on the ball, failing to evade the relentless pressure from the United attackers. Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo both capitalised on the 36 year old's inexperience of passing out from defensive positions and very quickly gave United a real shot at making an unthinkable comeback.
The next quarter of an hour was very nervy for the home fans and United sensed the unease among the Spurs players, creating more chances and nearly finding an equaliser.
Then, in the 88th minute, another moment of madness added to the thrills of this enthralling tie. Son had an in swinging corner from the left hand side, which many thought of as an opportunity to run the clock down. Instead, Son whipped the ball towards the back post, hoping to find the head of one of many of his team mates, who still risked going in search of a winner.
The ball ended up clearing everyone inside the six yard box and curled into the top right corner, providing the home supporters with a great sense of relief and in doing so, scoring one of the rarest types of goals in football.
It seemed as though the game was done and dusted but one more surprise was to follow. Deep into injury time, Diallo's corner was met by the head of Evans, who converted his chance and gave his side one last glimmer of hope.
Postecoglou's side held on nervously for the the remaining the two minutes and emerged victorious, although having made a difficult job of a game they seemed to be strolling through with ease, just half an hour earlier.
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Tottenham's greatest chance of silverware in many years
Tottenham fans will be praying that the list of memorable League Cup victories will soon be added too as they bid to finally end their infamous trophy drought, which has stained the club since 2008.
Their run to this stage of the competition has been difficult and very eventful, but perhaps this turbulent mix of emotions is leading to a climax which will overshadow the disappointment of their Premier League form so far this campaign, and act as a major turning point in their season.
