Tottenham Hotspur defender Djed Spence said he is confident in his ability to stop Mohamed Salah from scoring as Ange Postecoglu's side take a 1-0 lead into the second leg of their Carabao Cup semifinal at Liverpool on Thursday.
The 24-year-old has found his stride in Spurs' injury-hit squad over the past two months. He helped keep the holders at bay in January's first-leg win and now aims to help his side reach the final.
Tottenham have suffered repeated blows to their backline, with Radu Dragusin likely out for the season due to an ACL injury, while defenders Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie are sidelined and question marks hang over Micky van de Ven fitness after he was left out of the squad for Sunday's win at Brentford.
"I back myself against anyone. [Salah] is a great player and he is in good form but you have just got to nullify what he's good at really," Spence told reporters on Tuesday.
Salah, 32, leads the Premier League goalscoring charts with 21 goals, two ahead of Manchester City's Erling Haaland.
Spurs were languishing with one win in 11 league games before bouncing back in the Premier League with the vital 2-0 win at Brentford. Pressure is mounting on Postecoglou, with the north London side sitting 14th in the league table.
"It's been difficult but we fight for the manager, we fight for the club and you know, we all believe in what he wants to do," Spence added.
Spence said confidence would be key to turning Spurs' fortunes around. "We have got to be confident and we have got to be ready to fight and hopefully we make it to the final."
