The first leg of the EFL Cup against Arsenal originally scheduled to take place on Thursday evening has been postponed, Dominic King reports.
Liverpool requested the postponement due to a number of injuries, a COVID-19 outbreak at the club and due to three players attending the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
The Reds have forfeited home advantage and so the first leg will take place at Anfield on the 13th of January while the second leg will take place on the 20th of Jan.
Confirmation now that 1st leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final has been postponed; EFL have granted Liverpool’s request but Liverpool have now forfeited home advantage for second leg. First game at Anfield on Jan 13, return at The Emirates on Jan 20 🔴
— Dominic King (@DominicKing_DM) January 5, 2022
Jurgen Klopp and Pepijn Lijnders have both tested positive for the virus and are in isolation while Alisson Becker, Roberto Firmino and Joel Matip are the club’s confirmed player cases so far.
More are expected to follow after the club closed its AXA Training Centre due to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases.
This is on top of injuries to Thiago, Harvey Elliott, Nathaniel Phillips, Takumu Minamino and Divock Origi.
Additionally, Mohamed Salah, Naby Keita and Sadio Mane are away at AFCON for the month of January.
Liverpool vs. Shrewsbury Town hasn’t been postponed yet but it could go ahead as Alisson, Firmino, Matip and Klopp could all return from isolation in time but it’s unclear if the unnamed cases will affect that game as well.
It’s clear that the Anfield outfit is battling massively right now but hopefully, the game against Brentford in the Premier League isn’t negatively affected as Liverpool cannot afford to concede any more ground in the Premier League.
