Liverpool faces Southampton on Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup, with a place in the semi-finals up for grabs.
Having won the competition in two of the last three years, the Reds are well acquainted with the double-legged final-four stage. Liverpool beat Fulham last season to set up a final clash with Chelsea at Wembley.
That won’t happen this year, however, with both of the London clubs eliminated from the tournament. Instead, this year’s quarter-final line-up includes Arsenal ’s match against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night, which kicks-off 45 minutes before Newcastle United ’s encounter against Brentford. Liverpool’s trip to Southampton concludes a busy night of action.
Manchester United then travels to Tottenham Hotspur in the final match of the quarter-final stage on Thursday night.
When is the Carabao Cup draw?
After the conclusion of that match in the capital, the semi-final draw will take place and will be shown live on Sky Sports. Jamie Redknapp and Izzy Christiansen will pull the names out of the hat, although the ball numbers are yet to be confirmed.
The semi-final first legs will be played over the week commencing 6 January 2025 and the second legs taking place four weeks later. Should Liverpool progress it would mean a gruelling fixture schedule, with midweek matches against Nottingham Forest, Lille and PSV Eindhoven in between the two Carabao Cup games.
The Carabao Cup was Jurgen Klopp's last piece of silverware as Liverpool manager
The Carabao Cup was Jurgen Klopp's last piece of silverware as Liverpool manager (Image: Getty Images)
It’s therefore unsurprising that Arne Slot spoke about the need to rest and rotate ahead for the midweek trip to Southampton, with several regular starters expected to be given the night off or have reduced minutes. Should Liverpool progress to the Carabao Cup final, it will be played on Sunday 16 March, the same weekend that a trip to Villa Park has been pencilled in in the Premier League.
Liverpool beat Chelsea in last season’s final courtesy of a Virgil van Dijk header in injury-time. Two years prior and the game also went beyond 90 minutes - on this occasion it took penalties to separate the teams, with Jurgen Klopp’s side winning the shootout 11-10. Liverpool has won the Carabao Cup more times than any other club (10) and have played in more finals than anyone else (14).