A place in the Carabao Cup final is at stake on Wednesday night as Liverpool take a 2-1 lead into the second leg of their semi-final at Fulham.
The Cottagers once again gave the Reds a scare at Anfield in the reverse fixture, taking a 1-0 half-time lead before two goals in three second-half minutes saw the hosts turn things around. However, Fulham are well in the tie heading into the second leg.
Jurgen Klopp’s title hopefuls claimed their fifth successive win on Sunday as an efficient second-half display saw them run out 4-0 victors at Bournemouth. As a result, Liverpool restored their five-point lead at the Premier League summit.
Fulham, meanwhile, haven’t been in action since they were beaten 1-0 by Chelsea in a west London derby on 13 January. They’ll be fresh and ready to go as they aim to progress into their first League Cup final.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Wednesday’s semi-final second leg.
Fulham vs Liverpool H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (all competitions)
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TV channel/live stream |
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United Kingdom |
SKY GO Extra, Sky Sports Football, Sky Ultra HD, Sky Sports Main Event |
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United States |
ESPN+ |
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DAZN |
Fulham will be well-rested for Wednesday’s clash and Marco Silva almost has a full complement of players to call upon.
Adama Traore and Steven Andreas-Benda are the only injury doubts heading into Wednesday’s second leg.
Silva could name an unchanged side from the first leg.
Fulham predicted lineup vs Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, Tosin, Diop, Robinson; Palhinha, Reed; De Cordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian; Jimenez.
There’s unlikely to be too much change on the injury front from Sunday’s 4-0 victory over Bournemouth.
Trent Alexander-Arnold should be back in action by the end of the month, but he’ll miss out again on Wednesday. Dominik Szoboszlai remains a doubt with a hamstring problem, while Mohamed Salah picked up an injury at AFCON.
Joel Matip will miss the rest of the season, while full-backs Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas should return next month. Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara could both be back in action soon as well.
Liverpool predicted lineup vs Fulham (4-3-3): Kelleher; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez; Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Jones; Diaz, Gakpo, Jota.
Fulham have twice played as well as any side has at Anfield this season, but they’ve ultimately succumbed to two defeats. Nevertheless, Silva’s side have shown how they can hurt Liverpool and Craven Cottage will undoubtedly aid their cause on Wednesday.
The Reds are still without a couple of key stars which could prove costly on a decisive night like this, but Klopp’s men have continued to purr in recent outings.
Wednesday’s bout should boast a different dynamic from the first leg and it wouldn’t be a total surprise if Fulham enjoy more of the ball. A more reactive game could aid Liverpool here and they should be able to progress into the final even if they don’t win in west London.
Prediction: Fulham 1-1 Liverpool
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90Mins
