Preview
The Carabao Cup quarterfinals are underway, with a total of seven Premier League teams eyeing a spot in the League Cup semifinals. Arsenal were in action on Tuesday, taking on Sunderland and beating them 5-1 to secure progression to the last four. Wednesday will see three all-Premier League showdowns take place, with the standout game being Liverpool vs Leicester.
These two sides head into this fixture on the back of different seasons. Jurgen Klopp's side have been one of the best clubs of the current campaign, and despite their recent slip-up away to Tottenham over the weekend, the Merseyside giants remain one of the heavy favorites for the Premier League crown.
The Reds are unbeaten in their last nine games, with their last defeat coming in the 3-2 loss at West Ham back in early November. Since then, they have brushed aside the likes of Arsenal, Everton, Porto, and AC Milan, with Diogo Jota and Mohame Salah in particular spearheading this amazing form.
However, there have been a few bumps recently for the Anfield side. As mentioned earlier, Salah and Co. dropped points in their trip to Tottenham, drawing 2-2 with Spurs to fall four points behind league leaders Man City. Controversial refereeing took center stage, but Liverpool's shaky performance did not go unnoticed as a makeshift midfield trio consisting of Milner, Keita, and youngster Tyler Morton failed to impress.
The absence of Fabinho, Thiago, and Virgil van Dijk due to COVID-19 was visible for the naked eye to see. Jordan Henderson, while testing negative for the virus, was out due to illness and was also missed. Klopp's men have been hit with four cases of the worrisome virus so far but will be forced to go through with their quarterfinal fixture, leaving Klopp unhappy due to the number of unavailable players.
On the other hand, Leicester have had things far worse, both in terms of form and COVID-19. The Foxes saw their last two games called off after reporting a number of coronavirus cases, and could enter this fixture with some rust despite the rest period.
As for their overall form, Brendan Rodgers' men have been nothing short of inconsistent. Vardy and Co. boast only six wins from 16 Premier League games this season and have triumphed only three times in their last 15 outings, one being a 3-1 victory over Legia Warsaw in the Europa League.
Leicester beat Millwall and Brighton to get here and will be hoping to put another Premier League outfit to the sword when they visit Anfield. Can Brendan Rodgers get the better of his former club? That remains unknown, but what is almost certain is that fans will be in for an interesting tie!
Team news
Liverpool: Van Dijk, Curtis Jones, Fabinho, and Thiago have all contracted COVID-19 and will thus miss this tie. Furthermore, Klopp is unlikely to risk Henderson in this game after missing the trip to Spurs due to illness. Origi remains sidelined while Robertson will begin his suspension after receiving a straight red card over the weekend. Milner and Morton will likely deputize in midfield once again while Tsimikas will come in for the suspended Scottish left-back.
Leicester: A lot of uncertainty exists in the Foxes camp as some are dealing with COVID-19 while others are out injured. Jannik Vestergaard, Ayoze Perez, Ademola Lookman, Kelechi Iheanacho, Filip Benkovic, and Hamza Choudhury have reportedly tested positive for the virus while Evans and Soyuncu joined Fofana on the sidelines. James Justin, meanwhile, is a doubt.
Key stats
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These two teams have faced off in the Carabao Cup two times before, with each side winning once.
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Leicester haven't won in any of their last 10 trips to Anfield (D2, L8).
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However, the Merseyside giants haven't won any of their last four home games in the Carabao Cup (D2, L2).
Broadcast listings
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
