Aston Villa vs Liverpool Quarter-Final Confirmed
MOMS stated yesterday, that the confirmation from the EFL, that Sky Sports would be televising Aston Villa’s upcoming Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Liverpool, suggested a date had been fixed.
24 hours later, the EFL have confirmed the date will be Tuesday 17th December (7.45pm kick-off)…the original date, that had been slated.
Let’s say, MOMS isn’t surprised that it would take the EFL two attempts at what only really needed to be one announcement.
Liverpool Double-Up
Liverpool are due to play in last four of the Club World Cup in Qatar on 18 December, and despite the EFL trying to make out in their statement (see below), that the “integrity of the Carabao Cup” will be maintained with Regulation 6.5 being met, you only have to look at the 20 changes between Villa and Wolves in the previous round to know that it’s an empty gesture.
The EFL allowed the cup to lose its integrity a long time ago.
Regulation 6.5 states: “Each Club shall play its full available strength in and during all Cup Competition matches, unless some satisfactory reason is given.”
While the EFL states that Liverpool’s line-up will be consistent with previous rounds, it’ll be interesting to see if Liverpool will take the likes of James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana and Divock Origi, who all started against Arsenal in the previous round, to Qatar with them.
In short, Liverpool’s team Carabao Cup team is unlikely to compromise their chances of becoming World Club Champions in Qatar. So, Villa have a real chance to progress to a League Cup semi-final.
10% off below with code MOMS10
EFL STATEMENT – ASTON VILLA v LIVERPOOL
The Carabao Cup Quarter-Final tie between Aston Villa and Liverpool has been confirmed for Tuesday 17 December (7.45pm kick-off) as originally scheduled.
The EFL has been engaged in discussions with Liverpool for a number of months regarding the possibility of needing to find a suitable date for the Club to meet its commitments to the Carabao Cup, as well as the FIFA Club World Cup.
Having considered all possible scenarios, the EFL has now accepted a request from the Club to play the fixture on the scheduled date, during the designated week for the Quarter-Finals in the domestic fixture calendar, with Liverpool committing to fielding a team that is largely consistent with those that have participated in earlier rounds of this season’s competition.
The players selected on the teamsheet must meet the competition’s selection requirements, which are outlined in the competition’s rules with, Regulation 6.5 stating: “Each Club shall play its full available strength in and during all Cup Competition matches, unless some satisfactory reason is given.”
The EFL’s overwhelming priority is to maintain the integrity of the Carabao Cup and the decision taken is intended to protect the best interests of a competition that attracts millions of viewers at home and abroad with the final broadcast in more than 130 territories worldwide.
It is also the best decision in minimising the impact of rescheduling the final stages of the competition on those Clubs who remain in the Carabao Cup and the knock-on effect this would have in both the FA Cup and the Premier League.
EFL Football Services Director, Dave Cookson, said:
“The EFL is very aware of the challenges Clubs face when participating across numerous competitions at home and abroad, and whilst we will always look to work with Clubs our overwhelming priority has to be to protect the integrity of the Carabao Cup and ensure any decisions taken are in the best interests of the competition.
“The EFL has long-acknowledged that this competition provides those Clubs with large resources with the opportunity to rotate their squads knowing that teams who wish to be successful have to be prepared to play a large amount of matches over the course of the season.
“Therefore, in these exceptional circumstances the decision was taken having received clear assurances from the Club that there will be a level of consistency in team selection, a feature which is key to ensuring integrity is maintained.
“We recognise the challenges Liverpool face in this matter and appreciate the efforts made to find a practical solution. Finally, I would like to wish the Club well in representing the English game at the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar.”
UTV
December is already densely packed fixture-wise for Villa, so it’d be a big ask for them to field a full strength XI as well. Being in a QF does set minds to thinking about Wembley, but Dean Smith might be faced with the type of dilemma that Martin O’Neill faced when he was torn between league and cup – and fans still haven’t forgiven him.