Liverpool to use two separate squads for EFL Cup and Club World Cup | OneFootball

Liverpool will use two different squads on two continents in the space of 24 hours after it was confirmed that their EFL Cup quarter-final against Aston Villa will take place on December 17.

The Reds will take on the Midlands outfit at Villa Park on its original date, and then just a day later will play the Club World Cup semi-final in Qatar.

It means that the reigning European champions will have two completely different squads participating in the two competitions, an unprecedented step in English football.

An official statement read: “Liverpool Football Club can confirm our Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at Aston Villa will take place on Tuesday December 17, 2019.

“As a result, 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.

“We would like to thank the EFL for their efforts to accommodate us and we can confirm alternative dates were discussed, but ultimately none were considered suitable without compromising the scheduling of the competition itself or placing an undue strain on our playing staff.”

Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp used his media duties last week to call out the authorities for not looking after players, calling the fixture congestion “crazy”.

Although there has been nothing confirmed by the Anfield outfit yet, it seems likely that Klopp and his senior squad will go to the Middle East while a youth squad will stay at home to take on Villa.