Liverpool host Chelsea at Anfield in the Carabao Cup fourth round at 8pm GMT on Wednesday 28 October, which is 3am on Thursday 29 October in Vietnam, with a quarter-final place at stake. Andoni Iraola will rotate his side again, and Florian Wirtz could be available, according to Liverpool's official website. Xabi Alonso's Chelsea are without Cole Palmer, who is suspended, and Joao Pedro, who has a thigh injury.
Liverpool: changes, but no lack of ambition
Iraola made six changes for the midweek Champions League win over Villarreal that preceded the Brighton game, and four for the 2-0 league victory over Brighton on 25 October. This is the third of four straight games at Anfield, and Liverpool have won four in a row in all competitions.
“There will definitely be changes. But we want to win the game, we want to be competitive,” Iraola told his pre-match press conference, arguing that every top team playing every three days has to rotate. He said he would rather have the headache of leaving players out than not have enough players ready.
Wirtz twisted his ankle and went off in the second half against Brighton, but Iraola said: “He was quite fine, Florian – I’m quite optimistic that he will be available.” Victor Munoz and Dominik Szoboszlai are less likely to make it. Jeremie Frimpong is out with a muscle problem, and Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni are long-term absentees. Striker Jayden Danns, a League Cup winner with Liverpool in 2024 who scored for the under-21s against Chelsea, has been on the senior bench three times this season.
Chelsea: two forwards missing, Emegha in line for a debut
Palmer is banned after being sent off in Chelsea's 2-0 home defeat by Tottenham on 24 October. Joao Pedro, who has five goals and three assists in seven games this season, hurt his thigh in training on the eve of that match. “He has an injury in his thigh and he’s going to be out for a few weeks,” Alonso said, according to Chelsea's official website.
The good news for Alonso is that Emmanuel Emegha is in the squad. The 23-year-old Netherlands striker joined from Strasbourg in the summer of 2026 but has yet to play for the club because of a hamstring problem, and has trained well for about two weeks. Estevao and Danny Welbeck are also available. “They are in the squad, so every player in the squad can play,” Alonso said. He has confirmed that 21-year-old Belgian goalkeeper Mike Penders keeps his place, despite the own goal he conceded on his Premier League debut against Tottenham.
Old friends in opposite dugouts
Iraola and Alonso grew up together in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, played in the same team, and were teammates for Spain and the Basque Country. Iraola, 44 and in his first season at Liverpool, said the two would chat after the game but that for now Alonso is the opposition and he wants to beat him. “We’ve been unlucky in the draw, we are playing Chelsea. They have been unlucky also,” he said, adding that Chelsea, who are not in Europe this season, will take the competition seriously. Liverpool reached this round by beating Tottenham 3-1 in round three in September.
Alonso is back at Anfield as an opposing coach for the third time. He lost 4-0 with Bayer Leverkusen in November 2024 and 1-0 with Real Madrid almost a year later.
The numbers
From Liverpool club statistician Ged Rea:
| Topic | Figure |
|---|---|
| Head to head | 202nd meeting in all competitions; Liverpool have won 87 and lost 67 |
| Last two League Cup meetings | The 2022 and 2024 finals |
| Penalty shootouts | Liverpool have faced Chelsea in 4 and won all 4 |
| Chelsea's last win at Anfield | March 2021, Mason Mount scoring the only goal |
| Liverpool's last three home League Cup defeats | All to London clubs: Chelsea (2018/19), Arsenal on penalties (2020/21), Crystal Palace (2025/26) |
| Chelsea this season | 10 games: 6 wins, 1 draw, 3 defeats; 25 goals scored, 18 conceded |
Liverpool are four goals short of 300 against Chelsea in all competitions. If Virgil van Dijk scores, he will become the third-oldest player to score for the club in the League Cup, after Gary McAllister and Kenny Dalglish. Joe Gomez, captain against Tottenham in the last round, has made more League Cup appearances than any other current Liverpool player, with 21. For Chelsea, Maxence Lacroix, Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Pedro Neto have played in all 10 of their matches.
What comes next
The winners go through to the quarter-finals and into the next draw. Iraola said Liverpool want to earn the right to be in the draw again, and that only happens if they win. If Liverpool progress, a yellow card for Ronald Araujo or Milos Kerkez in this game would rule them out of the quarter-final.