The fourth and final EFL Cup quarter-final tie takes place at Liverpool's Anfield headquarters on Wednesday night, as the Reds take on West Ham United in an all-Premier League affair.
Jurgen Klopp's crop have overcome Bournemouth and Leicester City to make it this far, while the Irons stunned Arsenal in round four after a narrow opening success over Lincoln City.
Match preview
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While one desired record was broken in Liverpool's headline Premier League battle with Manchester United, where Anfield welcomed its biggest-ever crowd in the Premier League era, Klopp's troops earned a slice of unwanted history as the Red Devils somehow escaped with a point.
Firing 34 shots on goal without beating Andre Onana once, Liverpool had never failed to score with so many attempts in a Premier League games since data became available in 2003-04, thanks to their own lack of killer instinct in the final third and resolute Red Devils defending on Sunday evening.
A bemused Klopp went as far to state that his side's overall performance was more dominant than their 7-0 obliteration of Man United last season, but the scoreline in the top left-hand corner did not back up such a claim, as Liverpool's 11-game winning home run in the 2023-24 season came to a bitter end.
Sitting second in the standings behind Arsenal ahead of Saturday's mouthwatering top-of-the-table clash with the Gunners, Liverpool will temporarily banish talk of the title race as they seek to move one step closer to a record-extending 10th EFL Cup crowning, having clinched their ninth and most recent honour in 2022.
Only one of the hosts' last six quarter-final ties has seen the Reds fall short, which came on a historic day in the 2019-20 season, as an XI comprising solely of academy players - Liverpool's youngest-ever starting lineup - was crushed 5-0 by Aston Villa at this stage while Klopp's senior troops were competing at the Club World Cup.
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West Ham's Europa Conference League triumph did not earn the Irons a ticket to the ongoing iteration of the Club World Cup - that spot was reserved for Champions League winners Manchester City - but David Moyes's men are potentially just 270 minutes away from adding another honour to the cabinet.
Sure to enjoy a hostile welcome on account of his Everton association, Moyes led West Ham to the last 16 of the Europa League alongside Liverpool in midweek with a 2-0 success over Freiburg, and the visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday saw the Hammers complete their redemption mission from their 5-0 horror show at Fulham.
Joining former Liverpool fan favourite Roberto Firmino as just the second Brazilian to set up three goals in a single Premier League game, prolific playmaker Lucas Paqueta laid on two first-half assists for Mohammed Kudus before also setting Jarrod Bowen on his bike to complete a comprehensive capital crushing.
The London Stadium was also bouncing during West Ham's fourth-round EFL Cup tie, as Moyes's men stunned Arsenal after a narrow beating of Lincoln City to advance to the quarter-finals for the second time in three seasons, but the Irons must lift a last-eight hoodoo if they are to edge closer to Wembley.
Indeed, West Ham have lost each of their last three quarter-final ties since reaching the semis of the 2013-14 edition, where they suffered a humiliating 9-0 aggregate annihilation at the hands of Manchester City, and a 3-1 loss to Liverpool at Anfield in September represented their fourth defeat on the bounce against the Reds.
Team News
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Already seeing his midfield ranks decimated by injuries to Thiago Alcantara (hip), Stefan Bajcetic (calf) and Alexis Mac Allister (knee), Klopp was forced to take Ryan Gravenberch off the field just past the hour mark against Man United after the Dutchman sustained an apparent hamstring issue.
However, assistant Pep Lijnders has revealed that Gravenberch was only suffering from fatigue and could play on Wednesday, while Mac Allister has an outside chance of making his comeback too, but Ben Doak suffered a serious knee injury with the Under-21s at the weekend and is now set for surgery.
Andrew Robertson (shoulder), Joel Matip (ACL) and Diogo Jota (muscle) also feature on a growing injury list for the Reds, but Klopp will still make changes in abundance as ever, allowing Joe Gomez, Harvey Elliott and Cody Gakpo opportunities to impress.
Meanwhile, there has been little movement in the sparsely-populated West Ham treatment bay, where the sole occupant is knee victim Michail Antonio, who is not anticipated to return to first-team duty for another couple of weeks.
Edson Alvarez managed to shake off a bang to the hip to play the full 90 against Wolves, where Lukasz Fabianski was once again given the nod in goal over Alphonse Areola, despite the latter's recent recovery from a wrist problem.
Moyes could very well keep faith with Fabianski on Wednesday before drafting Areola back into his Premier League XI, and necessary changes amid the hectic schedule could benefit Danny Ings's chances of a start against his old team.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Quansah, Tsimikas; Elliott, Endo, Jones; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Kehrer, Mavropanos, Aguerd, Cresswell; Soucek, Ward-Prowse; Kudus, Fornals, Benrahma; Ings
We say: Liverpool 2-1 West Ham United
The two managers have bigger fish to fry heading into 2024, but a handful of fringe players on both sides should leave it all out on the Anfield turf in a bid to play their way into Klopp and Moyes's good books, giving rise to a close-run affair.
With a glut of goals already under their belt at home this season, Liverpool's underwhelming showing on Sunday was surely just a one-off, and if the Reds can prove as such, a place in the last four of the EFL Cup should be theirs, but an in-form West Ham will put up quite a fight.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
