Liverpool vs. Stoke City: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Liverpool welcome Stoke City to Anfield on Tuesday night, with both sides looking to book a place in the League Cup final.
Heading into the clash with a one-goal lead, Jurgen Klopp's Reds will be confident of securing passage to their first final since 2011/12, when goals from Martin Skrtel and Dirk Kuyt helped them on the way to their last League Cup triumph, beating Cardiff City in a penalty shootout at Wembley Stadium.
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Stoke will be looking to put a 3-0 defeat to Leicester City behind them with a positive result on Merseyside, and with Mark Hughes' side showing strong signs of development over recent seasons, a place in the League Cup final would be the perfect way to cap their progress.
Putting last season's 6-1 loss behind them, Liverpool have defeated Stoke on two occasions already this season, but with a potential final clash against either Manchester City or Everton on the line, previous results will prove insignificant.
Can Klopp lead his side to the first final of his Reds career—less than four months after his arrival—or will Hughes' stylish Potters burst the German's bubble on Tuesday night?
Date: Tuesday, 26 January, 2016
Time: 7.45 p.m. GMT / 2.45 p.m. ET
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool
TV Info: Sky Sports 1 (UK) / beIN SPORTS (U.S only)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK) / beiN SPORTS CONNECT (U.S only)
Form Lines (Last 5 Games)
Liverpool: D-D-L-W-W
Stoke City: L-W-W-D-L
Team News
Though still burdened with a number of crippling injuries, Klopp will be buoyed by the increasing quality throughout his squad, but with Nathaniel Clyne likely to miss out after suffering a knock in Saturday's 5-4 win over Norwich City, the 48-year-old could be forced to make changes.
Speaking to reporters, including Goal.com's Melissa Reddy, on Monday, Klopp revealed that Clyne was working back to full fitness, while Dejan Lovren had returned to first-team training:
"Dejan, after three weeks he trained yesterday, a complete session with the team.
It was good, but after three weeks we have to see.
[...]
Clyney got a knock on the knee. He is a really tough boy, he is always available, but I think today it will not work for training.
We don't do too much, of course, but I think we should leave him out of training.
"
Klopp suggested that, while Lovren was available, Kolo Toure and Mamadou Sakho would keep their places at centre-back. And if Clyne does miss out, the Anfield boss is likely to call upon 23-year-old right-back Jon Flanagan, who made his first appearance for the Reds in 20 months during last Wednesday's 3-0 win over Exeter City.
Steven Caulker is unavailable after having featured for Southampton in the competition already this season, while Martin Skrtel, Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge, Divock Origi, Joe Gomez and Danny Ings are remain on the sidelines.
Hughes has been forced to contend with some key absentees in recent weeks, and speaking to reporters, including the Press Association (h/t ESPNFC), he referenced a setback for captain Ryan Shawcross:
"Thankfully it is not a recurrence of the back injury which required surgery [over the summer], so that is a positive.
Unfortunately, the negative is that he has soft muscle damage and at the moment it is looking like it will probably be three to four weeks, I would think.
It is a blow to us because since Ryan came back into the team, we've been on a good run. It was certainly detrimental to our performance on Saturday.
"
With Shawcross withdrawn midway through Saturday's loss at the hands of Leicester, Stoke's flimsy defensive structure without him became abundantly clear.
Marc Wilson came on to replace Shawcross against the Foxes, and Hughes will likely choose between him and Marc Muniesa as cover at centre-back, as Geoff Cameron is also unavailable due to an ankle injury.
Hughes remains hopeful that Marko Arnautovic will make the starting lineup after suffering from a tight hamstring, while Bojan Krkic is expected to return to the fold after being left on the substitutes' bench on Saturday.
Predicted Lineups
With a host of fringe players named in Liverpool under-21s' clash with Tottenham Hotspur on Monday evening, including Adam Bogdan, Jose Enrique, Cameron Brannagan, Sheyi Ojo, Ryan Kent and Jerome Sinclair, Klopp is likely to name a strong lineup at Anfield.
This should see few changes from the side that won at Carrow Road, though injury to Clyne and the form of Adam Lallana could see Klopp alter his setup.
If Clyne is unavailable, Flanagan should join Toure, Sakho and Alberto Moreno in Liverpool's back four, operating ahead of first-choice goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, while in midfield Lucas Leiva could drop out, leaving Emre Can and Jordan Henderson to operate as a two-man engine room.
Lucas' withdrawal should see Lallana come into the No. 10 role in a 4-2-3-1, behind Roberto Firmino and flanked by Jordon Ibe and James Milner.
Hughes' defence will see a major change following Shawcross' injury, and former Portsmouth utility man Wilson is likely to take his place at the heart of the defence, alongside stellar German centre-back Philipp Wollscheid.
Jack Butland should remain in goal, while regular full-backs Erik Pieters and Glen Johnson will operate alongside Wilson and Wollscheid—with the latter making his return to Anfield, after leaving the Reds over the summer.
With Arnautovic and Bojan likely to come back into contention, Hughes could omit Jonathan Walters and Joselu, deploying the former Barcelona man behind Mame Biram Diouf and moving Arnautovic into the Senegalese's role on the left flank.
Xherdan Shaqiri will keep his place on the right wing, while Ibrahim Afellay and Glenn Whelan should continue in their roles at the base of Stoke's midfield.
Likely Liverpool XI: Mignolet; Flanagan, Toure, Sakho, Moreno; Can, Henderson; Ibe, Lallana, Milner; Firmino.
Likely Stoke City XI: Butland; Johnson, Wollscheid, Wilson, Pieters; Afellay, Whelan; Shaqiri, Bojan, Arnautovic; Diouf.
Players to Watch
Roberto Firmino
After a slow start to life on Merseyside, Firmino has reached strong form as Klopp's first-choice centre-forward, and speaking to reporters, including the Mirror's Liam Corless on Monday, the former Borussia Dortmund manager praised his star striker:
"After Manchester United, everybody asked me 'What about Firmino, [do] you need a real target striker?' But he scored two against Arsenal and he scored two here.
I think it’s a wide spectrum. Roberto is a striker. He’s a very offensive player. A lot of strikers are 1.60 metres or 1.70 metres-something. Leo Messi, what is he?
Firmino can play and score goals and he is, for us, a good option to play with. He is flexible and in brilliant shape.
"
Firmino has scored five goals and registered four assists in seven appearances as a striker for Liverpool, and after netting twice against Norwich on Saturday, will be confident of adding to that tally on Tuesday night.
Philipp Wollscheid
Tasked with shackling Firmino and his attacking colleagues at Anfield will be Wollscheid, who will be under increased pressure to perform following Shawcross' injury.
Wollscheid has impressed at the heart of the Stoke defence since making the move to the Britannia Stadium—initially on loan—in 2015, and he has helped the Potters to 11 clean sheets in 24 appearances in all competitions so far this season.
A strong, intelligent centre-back with reasonable ball-playing ability, Wollscheid will be key to Stoke's success if they are to stop the Liverpool charge on Tuesday.
Klopp will be familiar with Wollscheid from his time in the Bundesliga, and he would be wise to keep his eye on the former Bayer Leverkusen man in this semi-final.
Key Battle
Jon Flanagan vs. Marko Arnautovic
Flanagan faces something of a baptism of fire if he is handed his first Liverpool start under Klopp on Tuesday, as with just 39 minutes of senior football to his name after 619 days out, he could be lining up against one of the Premier League's most impressive wide men.
Coming of age within Hughes' impressive attacking setup, Arnautovic has scored seven goals and made four assists from his role on the left flank so far this season, and he will be looking to use his pace and bullish physicality to dominate Flanagan at Anfield.
After making his name as an aggressive, no-nonsense full-back within Brendan Rodgers' title-challenging Reds side in 2013/14, Flanagan will be keen to make up for lost time under a new manager.
Arnautovic poses a significant test, but the Liverpool defender won't shirk his duties if he is called upon.
Odds
Liverpool: 4/5
Stoke City: 22/5
Draw: 14/5
Odds via Oddschecker and correct at time of writing.
Statistics via Transfermarkt.co.uk.
