Concerned over jam-packed schedule, admits Jurgen Klopp

The Reds' first match in the competition will be on December 18, just a day after their quarter-final at Villa Park. The former Borussia Dortmund manager threatened to pull out of the League cup if a better date couldn’t be arranged to avoid a potential clash of fixtures. However, a clash has been avoided but now the games are to take place on back-to-back days giving Liverpool a problem to create a schedule around and help players recover.

“We don't know exactly yet [how the logistics will work]. We had to make a decision now and we made the decision because all the other alternatives were more problems than solutions. And that didn't work out. So we said, OK, that's how we can do it as good as possible for us. All the rest, we now have a bit of time to think about that. We have more important things to do now - today playing a game, then concentrating on the next game. But in these next couple of weeks we will make a decision how exactly it will look. But at the end, a Liverpool team will play, 100 per cent.