Villa-Liverpool tie to go ahead as planned

Liverpool’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Aston Villa will be played on its original date of December 17, both the Reds and the EFL have confirmed. Because of a clash with Liverpool’s FIFA Club World Cup commitments in Qatar, the club was in contact with Football League officials to try and find a suitable outcome and a different date was being discussed to stage the Villa Park last-eight tie later than planned.
However, it has been announced the game will take place before Christmas on December 17 with Liverpool set to use two separate squads for the fixtures as the Champions League winners play their first match in Doha the following day. Liverpool say its the best-possible outcome which respects both competitions and the demands on the playing staff.
A statement on the Liverpool website read: “We will be utilising two playing squads simultaneously, with one squad participating in the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar and another in the Carabao Cup. The club would like to take this opportunity to underline that, while this is not an ideal scenario, it is an outcome which was arrived at with the best interests of the competition, our fellow clubs and ourselves as the sole motivating factor.”
Liverpool will take part in the Club World Cup thanks to their European success in June when they beat Tottenham in Madrid, while they have progressed to the quarters of the EFL Cup after wins over MK Dons and Arsenal so far in the competition.
EFL released a statement on the decision as well with Football Services Director, Dave Cookson, saying: “Whilst we will always look to work with Clubs our overwhelming priority has to be to protect the integrity of the Carabao Cup and ensure any decisions taken are in the best interests of the competition. “Therefore, in these exceptional circumstances the decision was taken having received clear assurances from the Club that there will be a level of consistency in team selection, a feature which is key to ensuring integrity is maintained. We recognise the challenges Liverpool face in this matter and appreciate the efforts made to find a practical solution.”