Liverpool vs Arsenal: TV channel, live stream, team news & prediction
By Max Parsons
This time for real...
Following the postponement of their first scheduled meeting, Arsenal's trip to Liverpool on Thursday is now the first leg of this Carabao Cup semi-final.
A Covid-19 'outbreak' in the Liverpool camp saw the first tie called off, but Jurgen Klopp has since confirmed that there were actually a lot of false positives and only Trent Alexander-Arnold was found to have actually contracted the virus.
Most of Klopp's first-teamers got an extra rest and then sat out the FA Cup victory over Shrewsbury, so they should be well rested for this one.
Arsenal, on the other hand, looked leggy as they crashed out of the cup at the hands of Nottingham Forest at the weekend and are looking to put an end to their run of two straight defeats.
Here's all you need to know about this one.
How to watch Liverpool vs Arsenal on TV/live stream
When is kick off? Thursday 13 January, 19:45 (GMT)
Where is the match being played? Anfield
TV channel/live stream? Sky Sports Football (UK), ESPN+ (US)
Highlights? Sky Sports YouTube channel
Referee? Michael Oliver
VAR? Darren England
Liverpool team news
Alexander-Arnold's involvement is up in the air as the club wait for a last-minute call on his return from Covid-19. Goalkeeper Alisson should be available after his own negative test, although the Brazilian is yet to play in this competition this season and could be left out in favour of Caoimhin Kelleher.
AFCON absentees Mohamed Salah, Naby Keita and Sadio Mane will obviously miss out, as will the injured troop of Harvey Elliott, Divock Origi, Thiago Alcantara and Nat Phillips.
You can read Liverpool's predicted lineup for the game here.
Arsenal team news
Gabriel Magalhaes should start in defence for this one after completing his suspension, but Mikel Arteta still has a lot of issues to worry about.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mohamed Elneny, Thomas Partey and Nicolas Pepe are all in Cameroon, Granit Xhaka is battling Covid-19 while Emile Smith Rowe, Martin Odegaard AND Takehiro Tomiyasu are all unavailable through injury.
You can read Arsenal's predicted lineup for the game here.
Liverpool vs Arsenal head-to-head record
Liverpool have won two on the bounce against the Gunners, securing a 4-0 win at Anfield earlier this season to go along with a 3-0 triumph at the Emirates towards the end of last season.
Arsenal's last win in this fixture actually came in this competition in October 2020. In the fourth round, the two played out a goalless draw and went to penalties, from which the Gunners emerged victorious after Divock Origi and Harry Wilson fluffed their lines from the spot.
The previous Carabao Cup tie, 12 months earlier, also went to penalties, with Liverpool coming out on top in that one.
Liverpool vs Arsenal score prediction
Neither side are at their strongest from a personnel perspective, but Arsenal's absences look to be significantly more problematic.
Losing Partey and Xhaka is a massive blow and Liverpool will look to be all over that, and while they won't exploit it as well as they could at full strength, Jurgen Klopp's men will fancy their chances of doing some damage.
Expect a decent response from Arsenal after their FA Cup humiliation, but Liverpool will have no problem spoiling their fun.
Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal