Well, we certainly haven’t been handed an easy route through the Carabao Cup!
Liverpool have been drawn at home to Chelsea in the fourth round of the competition, meaning another Premier League side will arrive at Anfield with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.
After beating Tottenham 3-1 with a heavily rotated side, Liverpool are now faced with another big test.
And I actually really like this draw.
Another big night at Anfield
Liverpool showed against Spurs that Andoni Iraola isn’t afraid to rotate his team.
He made 10 changes from the side that started against Fulham, giving opportunities to players such as Trey Nyoni, James McConnell, Lewis Koumas and Rio Ngumoha.
They took those opportunities.
Now Chelsea are coming to Anfield.
That means the likes of Nyoni, McConnell and Koumas could get another chance to show Iraola what they can do, although you’d expect the manager to have a difficult decision to make when it comes to how strong a team he wants to select.
The Carabao Cup could become important
I’ve already said that I think the cup competitions could be particularly important for Liverpool this season.
The Premier League is going to be incredibly demanding, especially with Champions League football thrown into the mix.
That doesn’t mean Liverpool should give up on the league.
Far from it.
But if Iraola can build momentum in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup while also trying to secure Champions League qualification, suddenly there are multiple opportunities for this squad to have a successful season.
And Chelsea will provide a very good indication of where Liverpool are.
I want to see the youngsters again
One of the biggest positives from the Tottenham game was seeing young players actually get the opportunity to play in a competitive Liverpool side.
Nyoni was excellent.
McConnell worked incredibly hard.
Koumas showed exactly why Iraola has kept him around the first-team squad.
Ngumoha also got another opportunity to experience a big night at Anfield.
Chelsea will obviously be a tougher test, but that’s exactly what these players need.
If they’re good enough, they’ll have to prove it against good opposition eventually.
Anfield should be bouncing
There’s something different about a cup night at Anfield.
And with Chelsea coming to town, I expect a really good atmosphere.
Liverpool have already shown that they are taking this competition seriously by beating Spurs, and now the reward is another home tie against one of the Premier League’s big clubs.
Chelsea at Anfield in the Carabao Cup? I’m absolutely looking forward to that one.
It’s not an easy draw.
But if Liverpool want to win this competition, these are the games they eventually have to win.
And after what I saw from Iraola’s young Reds against Tottenham, I’m certainly not going to write them off.
Jamie (The Kopite View)
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