Hosting the first leg of the EFL Cup semifinals at Anfield, Liverpool will have some key absentees when they host Fulham as Mohamed Salah is on AFCON duty with Egypt and Trent Alexader-Arnold is sidelined with a knee injury. With a spot in the EFL Cup final on the line, it will be quite a task fending off a motivated Fulham team that can put up goals.
Here's our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, Jan. 9 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Anfield -- Liverpool, England
- TV: None | Live stream: ESPN+
- Odds: Liverpool -300; Draw +400; Fulham +600
Storylines
Liverpool: Without Salah and Alexander-Arnold, the front three will be critical. A combination of Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, and Diogo Jota will both need to bring creativity and goals. Klopp may need to experiment with defenders without Andrew Robertson and Alexander-Arnold but a cup match is a great time to do it.
Fulham: Without Alex Iwobi who is on international duty with Nigeria, Fulham's creativity will take a hit. While Tom Cairney can step in and do a job most of the load will fall to Raul Jimenez and Andreas Pereira. With one goal and four assists in the league this season, Pereira has been key to Fulham's attack and taking charge of set plays,
Prediction
The Reds will have plenty of attack to get past Fulham in the match as a Jota brace gives them a leg up in the tie. Pick: Liverpool 3, Fulham 0
