Coronavirus forces postponement of Arsenal vs Liverpool

Liverpool's coronavirus outbreak has led to the postponement of Thursday's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at Arsenal.

Both Reds coach Jurgen Klopp and assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders are isolating, with a number of key first-team players also unavailable due to positive Covid-19 tests.

The Anfield club closed their first-team training facility on Wednesday morning and cancelled their scheduled pre-match news conference.

The tie will now take place on Thursday, January 20, with the original second-leg encounter on January 13 now scheduled as the first leg.

An EFL statement read: "The EFL has been in regular dialogue with the club [Liverpool] over the past 48 hours in an attempt to understand whether the tie could proceed.

"But significant developments over this period have resulted in the club reporting an ever-increasing number of Covid-19 cases.

"Having now fully reviewed the circumstances involved, the league has accepted Liverpool’s request after determining, albeit reluctantly, that a postponement was the only option as the club looks to mitigate against the further risk of infection among its squad and staff."