Chelsea face Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday, October 28, at 8pm UK time in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. The Blues come into the game without the suspended Cole Palmer, after losing 2-0 at home to Tottenham. Liverpool, however, will look forward to the game after their 2-0 win over Brighton on Sunday, their fourth consecutive win under Andoni Iraola in all competitions. The game will be shown live on Sky Sports and ITV in the UK, and the winner will go through to the quarter-finals.
Chelsea’s loss to Spurs was a heartbreaking one for Xabi Alonso’s side. Cole Palmer picked up two yellow cards in the space of nine minutes. He will miss this game due to his one-match ban. Joao Pedro is also missing after suffering an injury to his knee. The forward has scored five goals and provided three assists in six league games. Goalkeeper Emi Martinez (broken jaw) and captain Reece James (knee surgery) are also out of the game, meaning Mike Penders is expected to start in goal.
Liverpool are also missing players. Florian Wirtz was forced off against Brighton with an ankle injury. Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong are out with hamstring injuries. Victor Munoz is a doubt with a knee injury. Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni are all long-term absentees.
Both teams are expected to make changes given the busy schedule. Iraola made ten changes in their 3-1 win over Tottenham in the last round. Alonso made nine changes in their 6-3 victory over Leeds. Liverpool face Arsenal on Sunday, November 1, while Chelsea welcome Manchester United to Stamford Bridge the day before. Liverpool are sitting in fourth place in the Premier League on 15 points. They are one place and two points above fifth-placed Chelsea.
The teams last met in May, drawing 1-1 at Anfield. Enzo Fernandez scored a free-kick to equalise Ryan Gravenberch’s early opener. The Reds are the most successful team in the competition with ten wins. Chelsea last won the trophy in 2015.
Cole Palmer: “Not Good Enough by Me”
Cole Palmer took responsibility for his red card on social media after the derby loss. It was the first red card he has received in senior football and also took Chelsea to 100 red cards in the Premier League. He posted on Instagram:
“Not good enough by me. Live n learn. Apologies. On to the next.”
The England international received his first yellow card in the 71st minute after a clash with Mateus Fernandes. He then fouled Conor Gallagher, a former Chelsea midfielder, late in the 80th minute, giving referee Chris Kavanagh an easy decision.
Palmer will be available for the Manchester United game on Saturday, October 31 at 12:30pm. Before then, Estevao and Geovany Quenda are the main candidates to step up and play in Palmer’s attacking role.