Liverpool vs Fulham Carabao Cup Final: Predictions lineups preview and stats
Liverpool host Fulham in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, so we simulated the clash on EA FC 24 to find out what could happen in the first leg of the semi-final clash
Liverpool’s predicted XI vs Fulham
Liverpool will be looking to take a big step toward the Carabao Cup final on Wednesday evening when the Reds host Fulham in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at Anfield. The Reds travel to Craven Cottage in a fortnight for the return.
A fantastic display saw Liverpool score five against West Ham United in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, with the 5-1 victory securing the Reds’ spot in the semi-finals against Fulham. Spirits are high in the Liverpool camp after the impressive 2-0 win away to Arsenal in the FA Cup third round on the weekend, and victory on Wednesday would keep up their 100 per cent start in the new year.
The last time these two sides met saw a thriller unfold at Anfield, with a late Trent Alexander-Arnold striker securing a 4-3 win for the Reds in the Premier League. Klopp’s side will be without Alexander-Arnold this time around though, with the defender set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury in the win against Arsenal.
So can Jürgen Klopp’s men pick up a big victory at Anfield on Wednesday? Let’s take a look by using a score prediction simulator.
We simulated Liverpool vs Fulham to get a score prediction
To complete this simulation, we used EA FC 24 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions. We predict that Liverpool could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their starting XI as follows: Alisson; Bradley,Konaté, Van Dijk, Gomez; Elliott, Mac Allister, Jones; Díaz, Jota,Gakpo.
We predict that Fulham could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Leno; Castagne, Adarabioyo, Diop, Robinson; Palhinha, Cairney; Cordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian; Jiménez.
Liverpool controlled the ball in the opening 45 minutes, but without Mohamed Salah and Alexander-Arnold, the Reds clearly had lost some creativity in attack. Despite dominating possession, it was Fulham who entered the break with the higher expected goals after tallying six shots on target to Liverpool’s two.
Klopp opted to try and shake things up 60 minutes in, with Darwin Núñez, Bobby Clark, Ryan Gravenberch and Kaide Gordon all being introduced. With some more youth on the pitch, the Reds started to look more dangerous and sharp going forward, and the opener finally came in the 79th minute.
Darwin Nunez made it 1-0 to Liverpool
Darwin Nunez made it 1-0 to Liverpool
Conor Bradley lifted a smart pass over the top of the Fulham back line for Gordon to latch onto, and after cutting inside the winger took aim, with his effort being palmed away by Bernd Leno. Fortunately for Liverpool, the ‘keeper parried the ball into the path of Nunez, and the Uruguayan couldn’t miss as he put the Reds ahead from two yards out.
Curtis Jones nearly made it 2-0 when he struck the post with a shot from distance in added time, but a second goal never arrived as Liverpool took a narrow one-goal lead into the second leg at Craven Cottage.
Mauricio Pochettino will be looking to secure three points when Chelsea lock horns with Liverpool at the end of the month, and Jurgen Klopp’s side have been dealt a huge injury blow
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates with teammate Darwin Nunez after scoring their team’s fourth goal during the Carabao Cup Quarter Final match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield on December 20, 2023
Liverpool dealt major injury blow for Chelsea tie as Klopp juggles Salah absence
Jurgen Klopp has been dealt a major injury blow ahead of Liverpool’s meeting with Chelsea at the end of the month. The Premier League leaders will welcome Mauricio Pochettino’s side to Anfield on January 31 in what is poised up to be a blockbuster bout.
Unless Egypt fail to qualify for the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations, Liverpool will be without Mohamed Salah when they lock horns with the Blues. Assuming that Japan qualify from the Asian Cup group stages in the coming weeks, the Reds are also expected to miss Wataru Endo.
Now, Trent Alexander-Arnold has become a major doubt for the Chelsea fixture too. Ahead of Liverpool’s clash against Fulham in the Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg, Pepijn Lijnders confirmed that the right-back has sustained a knee injury.
Klopp’s assistant claimed that Alexander-Arnold suffered the knock during the Reds’ FA Cup triumph over Arsenal at the weekend. Lijnders said: “First of all, some not-that-good news. Trent hyperextended his knee during the last game.
“So he has a little tear in the lateral ligament of his knee and he will need time to recover. He had a scan and he will be out for a few weeks, so let’s see after that. He will get some rest and then hopefully he can come back to where he was.
“Because this guy was decisive in all the games and was the one who created constantly for us from deep and gave the team a high level of flexibility. We will really miss him.”
Lijnders then offered updates on Virgil Van Dijk, Dominik Szoboszlai, Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas. The Liverpool assistant added: “Virgil is back. He did some runs yesterday on the pitch, looked good again. So he will be back in the squad, he recovered well. So it really helped him not to travel to London.
“Dom is progressing well on the pitch, he’s running, so let’s see. Not available for tomorrow. And then we have Robbo, he’s almost at the three-month mark, so he will get checked by the surgeon.
“And if he does that scan and we see everything [so] that we can really progress him, he will go to Dubai for a week to do proper volume sessions, proper sessions, so that will be good for him. Then we see the three-month-mark scan and then we can see how quick he can go into contact again.
“Same for Kostas. Kostas is progressing really well, really quick. So hopefully both of them – Robbo and Kostas – will be back at the end of this month to train with the team.”
If Salah, Endo and Alexander-Arnold are all unavailable for Liverpool’s clash against Chelsea at the end of the month then Pochettino’s side will be given a huge confidence boost. With the Blues plotting an ambitious, late push for top-four, they’ll be desperate to take points from those above them in the Premier League table.
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