Carabao Cup draw LIVE: Semi-final ties revealed as Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham join Arsenal
Follow the draw live at the conclusion of tonight’s three remaining quarter-final ties
Liverpool fought back against Leicester to win 5-4 on penalties and reach the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup in incredible fashion.
Second-choice goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher saved two penalties in the shoot-out as Liverpool, joint record winners in the competition with eight, reached their 18th League Cup semi.
Substitute Diogo Jota struck the winning spot-kick - having come off the bench to score - but the real hero was Takumi Minamino who made it 3-3 with seconds remaining of six added minutes.
Tottenham boosted hopes of ending a 14-year trophy drought by edging out West Ham 2-1 to make the last four.
Spurs’ last silverware came in this competition in 2008 and Steven Bergwijn combined with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to fire them ahead after 29 minutes.
Tottenham’s lead only lasted three minutes as Eric Dier’s poor clearance gave Nikola Vlasic possession in a dangerous area. Vlasic’s shot fell to Jarrod Bowen whose brilliant control and drag back gave him the space to beat Dier and equalise with a low shot. Parity lasted just two minutes, however, as Lucas Moura netted the decisive goal for Spurs from Bergwijn’s pull-back.
Chelsea scored twice late on to beat west London neighbours Brentford 2-0.
Bees defender Pontus Jansson put through his own goal 10 minutes from time to give Chelsea the lead. The Blues secured safe passage into their first semi-final in the competition for three years five minutes later. Christian Pulisic was brought down by Alvaro Fernandez and substitute Jorginho tucked away the penalty with ease.
Liverpool vs Leicester: Liverpool hoping to entertain fans
Liverpool’s assistant coach Pep Lijnders expects the team to put on a good show against Leicester tonight regardless of who is on the pitch. He believes that there will be some rotation to the starting XI but whoever takes to the pitch for the Reds will be determined to earn a positive result for the fans. About possible changes to the team, Lijnders said:
Yeah, we know we are in an intense period, so what we always do is create a line-up, we make a small plan and we prepare well. And then we want to attack matchday.
“We will focus on ourselves; we know in these intense periods we need the whole squad. We know that’s something we want – we want to be in these intense periods, we want to play these games and we really look forward to it.
“What we want is to give our fans a cup night full of desire. That’s what we did before and that’s what we want to do now. If it’s Leicester at home or AC Milan away, that’s how it works.”
Liverpool vs Leicester
Tonight’s Carabao Cup quarter-final between Liverpool and Leicester is likely to see both managers rotate their squads to give their first choice players a rest during the bust festive period schedule.
This is Liverpool’s third fixture in seven days and they have another two games scheduled before the end of the year. Leicester meanwhile haven’t played since December 12th after their Premier League fixtures against Tottenham and Everton were postponed last week due to rising coronavirus cases at those clubs.
Liverpool vs Leicester: Jurgen Klopp thinks festive football fixture list is ‘absurd’
Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders said on Tuesday that it was “absurd” that Liverpool have to play two games in four days given the number of Covid-19 cases and injuries at the club.
The Anfield side drew 2-2 with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in the league and will face Leicester City at home on Wednesday in the quarter-finals of the League Cup.
Both the Premier League and English Football League announced on Monday that fixtures during the busy festive period will go ahead as planned despite the surge in Covid-19 cases.
Jurgen Klopp thinks festive fixture list is ‘absurd’, says Liverpool No2 Pep Lijnders
‘It’s a much higher risk of injury,’ Lijnders said of Liverpool’s two games in four days
Liverpool host Leicester in Carabao Cup quarter-finals
Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage as Liverpool host Leicester in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals tonight.
Jurgen Klopp has been left infuriated by the Premier League’s officiating and fixture scheduling in recent days, but there is no respite for his side as they aim to secure a place in the semi-finals tonight. The Reds are likely to field a heavily rotated side as Klopp seeks to protect his players, while the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, and Thiago have tested positive for Covid-19.
Leicester are juggling a host of problems themselves, though, and have not been able to play since 12 December due to a widespread outbreak of Covid within their squad. Brendan Rodgers could be without as many as 11 first-team players tonight as the Foxes seek to add to last season’s FA Cup glory.
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