Liverpool Must Push for EFL Cup Glory, Despite Early Premier League Hopes
Liverpool welcome Championship side Leeds United to Anfield on Tuesday night to play out their knockout clash in this season's EFL Cup—their third consecutive appearance in the tournament's quarter-finals—with the Reds in excellent form.
Jurgen Klopp's side are now 14 games unbeaten in all competitions, 11 in the Premier League, having last suffered defeat at the hands of Burnley on August 20, with Liverpool one of English football's most formidable sides.
Their route to the quarter-finals has seen them triumph over Burton Albion, Derby County and Tottenham Hotspur so far, scoring 10 goals and conceding just once, keeping clean sheets against the Brewers and the Rams.
But with Liverpool vying with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City at the summit of English football's top flight, there could be a temptation to shift the focus to the Premier League and marginalise their cup endeavours.
However, this should not be the case. The quest for cup glory should still be high on Klopp's list of priorities as manager on Merseyside, with Anfield not having tasted silverware since Kenny Dalglish's side won the same competition back in 2012.
While Liverpool's push for Premier League glory should continue in earnest, this cannot sideline their efforts in both the EFL Cup and, later, the FA Cup.
With their next challenge coming at home to Garry Monk's Leeds, Klopp should be motivating his side for a convincing victory and a place in the semi-finals—where any of Hull City, Newcastle United, Arsenal, Southampton, Manchester United and West Ham United could await.
Fortunately, in Klopp, the Reds have a manager who acknowledges the importance of success on all fronts, with both his time at Borussia Dortmund and his first year at Liverpool underlining this.
Klopp took over at Dortmund in 2008, and after his predecessor, Thomas Doll, led his side to the final of the DFB-Pokal in his final season with the club, it didn't take long for the former Mainz 05 manager to experience cup glory.
This came against Bayern Munich in the DFL-Supercup—Germany's equivalent of the FA Community Shield—pitting the Bundesliga and cup champions against each other in a one-off clash.
While it took time for Klopp to settle and find stability at the Westfalenstadion, finishing sixth and fifth in 2008/09 and 2009/10, respectively, Dortmund were in a position to challenge for—and win—the title in 2010/11; and, after considerable progress, this is where he finds Liverpool in 2016/17.
Dortmund won the Bundesliga in 2010/11 and 2011/12, and, tellingly, in the latter campaign also won the DFB-Pokal, thrashing Bayern 5-2 at Berlin's Olympiastadion courtesy of goals from Shinji Kagawa, Mats Hummels and a Robert Lewandowski hat-trick.
Klopp's side went on to enjoy considerable success in the DFB-Pokal, the DFL-Supercup and the UEFA Champions League between 2011 and 2015:
| 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | |
| DFB-Pokal | Winners | Quarter-Final | Runners-up | Runners-up |
| DFL-Supercup | Runners-up | Runners-up | Winners | Winners |
| Champions League | Group Stage | Runners-up | Quarter-Final | Round of 16 |
Dortmund won silverware in every season under Klopp from 2010—except for 2012/13—but even then they enjoyed a remarkable run to the Champions League final—their biggest achievement in Europe's top-tier tournament since 1996/97—and this is the level Liverpool will be aiming to reach.
In his first season with the club, Klopp repeatedly stressed the importance of showing "respect" to every tournament, and he underlined this once again ahead of the clash with Burton back in August.
"We want to be as successful as possible," he explained, "and when we say we want to fight for everything, then of course the League Cup is involved."
He also highlighted how defeat to City in last season's League Cup final at Wembley Stadium was "a nice game until the final whistle," attesting to the morale-boosting factor of cup success, both throughout his squad and among the club's supporters.
The Reds not only reached one cup final in 2015/16, but two, also losing in their showpiece clash with Sevilla in the Europa League, and running so close to glory should serve as added motivation.
Historically, Liverpool have enjoyed cup competitions, winning the League Cup more times than any other side (eight), as well as featuring in the most League Cup finals of any club (12).
They have also won seven FA Cups, 11 European honours and 18 top-flight titles, with their glory days coming in the 1980s, when they lifted 20 trophies in total, including four doubles and one treble—the latter coming in 1983/84, winning the First Division, the League Cup and the European Cup.
However, that Dalglish's League Cup success in 2011/12 remains the last time the Reds secured silverware serves to underline their fall from grace this decade, with sustained periods of turbulence both on and off the pitch depriving managers and their squads of a platform to build.
Now, with a proven cup-winning manager at the helm in Klopp, and with owners John W. Henry and Tom Werner reinforcing their commitment with the redevelopment of Anfield over the summer, that backbone is now in place.
The demand for silverware at Liverpool is informed by previous success, but as Klopp detailed prior to the victory over Spurs at Anfield on October 25, it is also informed by their thirst for victory:
"It would be a sign, a little bit of a negative sign, if you need to lose a final to want to win it next year.
It's a very, very interesting tournament, a very big cup tournament, and that's the reason why we want to go to the final.
When we are in the final next time we want to win it, of course, and nobody should be worried about this.
"
Klopp has shown no sign of relenting in any of the cup competitions, but after going so close in both the League Cup and the Europa League in his first campaign with the Reds, he now has the squad capable of matching his ambition.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is one such option, with the Liverpool Echo's James Pearce reporting that Klopp is considering making "wholesale changes."
The young full-back is joined by the likes of Connor Randall, Cameron Brannagan, Pedro Chirivella, Harry Wilson, Ovie Ejaria and Ben Woodburn as possible options from the Reds' academy, with the latter duo the most likely to feature at Anfield.
Woodburn made his debut for Liverpool in their 2-0 victory over Sunderland on November 26, and at just 17, he looks set for a bright future under Klopp.
Ahead the Reds' youth ranks, however, there is further competition within Klopp's first-team squad, with Simon Mignolet, Ragnar Klavan, Lucas Leiva, Alberto Moreno, Kevin Stewart and Marko Grujic all left out of the starting lineup against the Black Cats but available to take part.
Divock Origi stepped off the substitutes' bench to score the opening goal in Liverpool's latest league win, too, and he will be eager to add to his tally with another appearance in the League Cup.
Even with injuries to Adam Lallana (groin), Philippe Coutinho (ankle) and Daniel Sturridge (calf), Klopp has no excuse but to field a strong side against Leeds on Tuesday night—such is the quality of his squad in 2016/17.
This ability to chop and change gives Klopp the flexibility to focus on each of the Premier League, the League Cup and the FA Cup, providing Liverpool with a great chance of lifting silverware this time around.
Jack Lusby will be covering Liverpool throughout 2016/17 as one of Bleacher Report's lead correspondents. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Follow Jack on Twitter @jacklusby and Facebook here.
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