When Liverpool hosts Leicester City this midweek, they will be looking to get back on track and progress to the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
The Carabao Cup's final two quarter-final ties will be played on Wednesday night, with both matches featuring all-Premier League teams.
One of the games will pit Brentford against Chelsea at home in a London derby, while the other will pit Brendan Rodgers' Leicester City side against Liverpool at Anfield.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has used a lot of fringe players and youngsters in the competition, but they've been good enough to get the team to the last eight after beating Norwich City (3-0) and Preston North End (1-0). (2-0).
The Reds will be eager to get back on track with a win on Wednesday after seeing their eight-game winning streak come to an end against Tottenham last weekend.
Leicester, on the other hand, beat Millwall 2-0 in the third round before being pushed to the limit by Brighton in the Round of 16, where they won on penalties. The Foxes have been inconsistent this season, but they won their most recent game 4-0 against Newcastle United, after which they had two games cancelled due to the league's Covid outbreak. Brendan Rodgers and his team could be in trouble if they face a resurgent Liverpool side at Anfield.
The two teams have yet to meet this season, but Leicester was thrashed 3-0 by Liverpool the last time they visited Anfield in November of last year.
The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams ahead of their latest meeting in this crucial knockout match.
Tactics & News from the Team
Liverpool
Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, Curtis Jones, and Thiago Alcantara have all been ruled out after positive Covid tests, while Divock Origi is still unable to play. Captain Jordan Henderson has returned after missing the previous game due to illness, but he is unlikely to start on Wednesday. Harvey Elliott has been absent for a long time.
In the midst of a busy festive schedule, Jurgen Klopp is expected to make some changes for the game and give his regulars a rest. Caoimhin Kelleher will start in goal for the home team, while Joe Gomez should get a rare start in the defensive partnering Ibrahima Konate with Joel Matip likely to be given a rest.
The full-backs will be Neco Williams and Kostas Tsimikas.
Tyler Morton, who had a difficult weekend against Tottenham, should get another chance at the base of the Liverpool midfield against Leicester. It will be up to him to neutralize any threat posed by the visitors' midfield runners. He'll almost certainly have veteran midfielder James Milner on his side, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could replace Naby Keita.
There will most likely be wholesale changes in attack, as the trio of Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota, and Mohamed Salah will be rested. Takumi Minamino, Roberto Firmino, and youngster Kaide Gordon are likely to start on Wednesday night in their place.
Leicester City will play their first game in ten days after a couple of fixtures were canceled due to Covid issues, with the Foxes' training centre shutting down for a couple of days after a few players tested positive. Injuries have ruled out James Justin and Wesley Fofana, while Caglar Soyuncu and Jonny Evans are major doubts for the game.
Daniel Amartey, who was called up for the Ghanaian national team's training camp ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations, is also expected to miss out. Due to Covid-related issues, Filip Benkovic, Jannik Vestergaard, Vontae Daley-Campbell, Ayoze Perez, Ademola Lookman, and Hamza Choudhury are all in doubt.
Rodgers is expected to make a few changes, starting with the goalkeeper position, where ex-Liverpool star Danny Ward is expected to take over from Kasper Schmeichel. Despite an injury crisis, Wilfred Ndidi is expected to start in central defense, possibly alongside Ryan Bertrand, who will play as a makeshift centre-back. On the right and left sides, Timothy Castagne and Luke Thomas should line up as fullbacks, respectively.
Youri Tielemans and Boubakary Soumare line up in the middle of the field, with the former providing offensive thrust and creativity and the latter providing defensive security. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is expected to start in the No. 10 spot, flanked by Marc Albrighton and Harvey Barnes. Patson Daka will be the man in charge of the visitors' line.
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