Liverpool vs Fulham LIVE: Elliott starts against former club in Carabao cup semi

The Reds eased past West Ham in December to reach the final four and continued their impressive form in all competitions this season.

Jurgen Klopp's side are top of the Premier League and remain in both cups as they aim to get their hands on some silverware.

A two-legged tie against the Cottagers stands in their way of a trip to Wembley after Marco Silva's men saw off Everton on penalties at Goodison Park.

Carabao Cup semi-final first leg to kick-off at 8pm.

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Liverpool XI: Kelleher, Bradley, van Dijk, Konate, Gomez, Mac Allister, Jones, Gravenberch, Elliott, Diaz, Jota.

Subs: Alisson, Quansah, McConnell, Nyoni, Clark, Gordon, Gakpo, Nunez, Beck.

Fulham XI: Leno, Castagne, Tosin, Diop, Robinson, Palhinha, Reed, De Cordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian, Jimenez.

Subs: Rodak, Tete, Ream, Lukic, Francois, Cairney, Wilson, Muniz, Vinicius.

Follow our live match blog below for regular updates...

2 minutes agoBy Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham

Warm-ups are well underway at Anfield!

We're only 15 minutes away from kick-off...

7 minutes agoBy Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham

Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha is hopeful that he can win the Carabao Cup with Fulham but he knows a trip to Anfield is never easy.

"It's something that is important for me, for the Club, because we never won this cup," Palhinha said.

"When you win a title - can be Carabao, can be FA Cup, any title - it's important.

"It's good we don't play against Salah, [but] some of our important players are out for this game as well.

"It will be a competitive game for us, and for them.

"We all know that sometimes the atmosphere can win games, and we need to be prepared for this and stay with our heads completely clear."

12 minutes agoBy Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham

Harvey Elliott believes that Liverpool 'have all the tools' to be able to go all the way and win some silverware this season.

"Now more than ever, we have that belief," Elliott said. "We got off to a very good start, even though circumstances in games weren't really going our way, and I think now we have that belief within us.

"And as a club as well, the fans are always behind us the whole way.

"Wherever we go in the world, the support we get is unbelievable and we want to give it back and achieve things for them, and create history for this amazing club.

"I think we have all the tools to do it, it's just down to us to make sure we keep pushing. We can't think too far ahead, we need to just take it game by game and get the wins.

"Then if it comes to it at the end of the season, why not go for it all?"

17 minutes agoBy Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham: Match facts

This is Fulham's first appearance in the League Cup semi-finals. The last time a first-time semi-finalist reached the final of the competition was in 2012-13, with Bradford City and Swansea City both doing so.

Liverpool are making their 19th appearance in the League Cup semi-finals, more than any other side. They've also reached the final (13) and won the competition (9) more times than anyone else.

22 minutes agoBy Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham

Marco Silva has also been speaking about how difficult it's going to be to beat such a tough opponent and reach the final.

Silva said: "Really huge respect for Liverpool, the quality they have, how they have been playing, the season they're having, they are top of the league.

"They showed again in the FA Cup how they can be strong as well with some changes. They have the quality and they are in a very good moment.

"But, of course, if you are there, if you get the chance to play Semi-Finals, it's because we have worked so hard to do it."

27 minutes agoBy Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham

Jurgen Klopp knows his side have to be on the top of their game to overcome Fulham across the two legs.

He said: "No one needs me to say how big a game this is. It speaks for itself.

"When you are only two steps away from a final at Wembley, it makes sense to do everything that you possibly can to take them.

"We have done this in the past and the feeling was good - really good - so it would be nice if we could experience that feeling again.

"For that to happen, we know we will have to be absolutely on our toes for the full 180-200 minutes of the two legs.

"Fulham's quality is not an unknown quantity, I will say it like this, and they have shown on so many occasions that they have the tools and the know-how to give many problems."

32 minutes agoBy Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham

A landmark night at Anfield for Joe Gomez!

37 minutes agoBy Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham: Team news

Harvey Elliot starts against his former club for Liverpool tonight in a changed line-up.

Jurgen Klopp has made five changes after beating Arsenal in the FA Cup with Trent Alexander-Arnold replaced by Conor Bradley.

As for Fulham, Marco Silva has chosen to start with a very strong side with all their key men in from the off.

Former Liverpool youngster Harry Wilson is on the bench for the Cottagers at Anfield.

44 minutes agoBy Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham: Team news

Liverpool XI: Kelleher, Bradley, van Dijk, Konate, Gomez, Mac Allister, Jones, Gravenberch, Elliott, Diaz, Jota.

Subs: Alisson, Quansah, McConnell, Nyoni, Clark, Gordon, Gakpo, Nunez, Beck.

Fulham XI: Leno, Castagne, Tosin, Diop, Robinson, Palhinha, Reed, De Cordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian, Jimenez.

Subs: Rodak, Tete, Ream, Lukic, Francois, Cairney, Wilson, Muniz, Vinicius.

50 minutes agoBy Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham: Match facts

Liverpool have progressed from all five of their League Cup ties against Fulham, most recently a 3-0 quarter-final win en route to lifting the trophy in 2000-01. These include a 10-0 victory in September 1986 (the joint-biggest win in the competition's history), and a 5-0 win in October 1993 that saw Robbie Fowler score all five goals.

Liverpool have lost just one of their last 11 meetings with Fulham (W8 D2) in all competitions (all in the Premier League since 2012) and have already beaten them 4-3 at Anfield this season.

56 minutes agoBy Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham

Liverpool will be missing multiple key players tonight due to injury, AFCON and the Asia Cup.

However, assistant manager Pep Lijnders believes the Reds will be able to cope with a changed line-up.

"There's no 'irreplaceable'," said Lijnders. "We have many weapons.

"We don't rely on one, two or three or four players. We're missing probably four or five core players from our leadership group - Robbo [Andy Robertson], Trent [Alexander-Arnold], Mo [Salah].

"So yeah, missing three from the leaders. That's a blow, of course."

Today, 18:45By Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham

Fulham boss Marco Silva is also wanting his side to not get carried away tonight or focus too much on the second leg at home.

"You're talking about two games but, at the same time, you cannot be thinking about the second game if you don't do so well in the first," Silva said.

"This is where you have to have the right balance.

"I don't want the players just thinking about the second game, because if we don't do our job really well in the first one, probably the chances to be decisive at home are not going to be there.

"Because of that, we have to play really at our best level there."

Today, 18:40By Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham

Liverpool are top of the Premier League and remain in all three cup competitions this season as they compete for silverware on all fronts.

Jurgen Klopp doesn't want to get carried away though, with there still being a long way to go.

He said: "No. I can't [read into it]. It doesn't mean nobody can, but I can't.

"We don't have a problem with belief and confidence, we are not really bothered about the things you are talking about because we can read the calendar.

"We see it's January; it's cold outside, stuff like this, and you just have to stay warm and play as good as you can, and that's what we try."

Today, 18:35By Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham

Liverpool being drawn at home for the first leg of a Carabao Cup semi-final is a huge boost to their chances of reaching the final.

That's if they can keep up their form in the fixture, having never lost when playing a semi-final first leg in the competition at Anfield, winning five and drawing three.

The Reds have gone on to reach the final on six of the eight occasions they have started the semis on home turf.

To make things better for Liverpool, they have progressed from all five of their previous League Cup ties against Fulham.

Most recently, they won 3-0 in the quarter-final en route to winning the title in 2001.

So, if history repeats itself, Klopp's side are in good shape to reach Wembley, but Fulham will be out to put an end to their unwanted streak this week.

Today, 18:30By Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham: Team news

Liverpool are set to be without Trent Alexander-Arnold after he picked up a knee injury against Arsenal.

He is expected to be sidelined for a few weeks.

The Reds will be hoping that captain Virgil van Dijk is fit to play in the semi-final after he missed the last game.

Van Dijk was ruled out due to illness but he may have recovered in time for this one.

Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo are away with their national teams while Dominik Szoboszlai is ruled out through injury.

Andy Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas, Stefan Bajcetic, Thiago, Joel Matip and Ben Doak are also all sidelined.

As for Fulham, Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey and Fode Ballo-Toure are all away at AFCON.

Adama Traore and Tim Ream have missed recent games with knocks and are expected to miss this one too but they'll have an eye on a second-leg return.

Today, 18:29By Jack Johnson

Liverpool vs Fulham

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