Date confirmed for Liverpool's Carabao Cup tie vs Bournemouth as hectic festive schedule set
Are Liverpool now favourites to win the Carabao Cup? Having already dumped out Spurs, the Reds beat Chelsea after a penalty shootout on Wednesday, with a whopping 16 spot-kicks taken in front of the Kop before Wesley Fofana skied his attempted high into the Merseyside night sky.
Shortly after, the Reds discovered that they will host Bournemouth in the last eight, with Andoni Iraola later revealing "the only team I don’t want is Bournemouth...they know me very well... we haven’t been very lucky with the draws".
On Wednesday lunchtime, the EFL confirmed all the dates, kick off times and TV listings for the the quarter-final matches.
Carabao Cup quarter-final confirmed fixture schedule
Tuesday 15 December. Kick off 8pm: Manchester City vs Bradford City - Sky Sports.
Wednesday 16 December. Kick off 7:30pm: Crystal Palace vs Sunderland - Sky Sports.
Wednesday 16 Decemeber. Kick of 8pm: Liverpool vs Bournemouth - ITV1 and Sky.
Thursday 17 December. Kick off 8pm: Fleetwood Town vs Everton - ITV1 and Sky.
As expected, Liverpool's clash with Bournemouth has been set in stone for Wednesday 16 December. Given that the Cherries face Arsenal the Sunday before, and then Coventry the following Saturday in the Premier League, there was no other date it could be.
For Liverpool, following their EFL Cup progression, they will now play 13 matches between 22 November and 5 January, more than a game every four days. The week of Christmas is the only time Iraola has more than four days between matches, a trend that will continue if they beat Bournemouth and reach the two-legged semi-finals. So, how does this tie fit into the Reds' fixture list?
Liverpool's confirmed fixture list (5 December - 5 January)
Saturday 5 December: Manchester City vs Bradford City - Sky Sports.
Wednesday 9 December: FC Porto (H) - Champions League. Kick off 8pm (TNT)
Saturday 12 December: Leeds United (H) - Premier League. Kick off 3pm.
Wednesday 15 December: Bournemouth (H) - EFL Cup. Kick off 8pm (ITV1).
Saturday 19 December: Tottenham Hotspur (H) - Premier League. Kick off 5:30pm (SKY).
Saturday 26 December: Hull City (A) - Premier League. Kick off 5:30pm (SKY).
Wednesday 30 December: Aston Villa (A) - Premier League. Kick off 8:15pm (SKY).
Saturday 2 January: Coventry City (H) - Premier League. Kick off 3pm.
Tuesday 5 January: Sunderland (A) - Premier League. Kick off 8:15pm (SKY).
As the fixture list documents, this tie comes during a hectic and crucial period in the season. If the Reds reach the semi-finals, that will result in two more ties in mid-January and early-February, at which point the Champions League will have returned, facing Inter and Lens to conclude the league phase.
Nevertheless, with so many other elite-level Premier League teams having been eliminated, the League Cup should certainly be a priority for Iraola. Who knows how many points Man City will have been deducted by the time the final rolls around in March. Thus, as the Basque coach looks to build a dynasty at Anfield, landing a trophy in his first season is important.
