Liverpool had to cancel Tuesday’s training session due to a COVID outbreak and now there’s a possibility that the Arsenal vs Liverpool game could be postponed.
The two sides face each other in the EFL Cup semi-final, the first leg of which will be played on Thursday. The Anfield outfit though have a really thin squad due to a combination of COVID cases, injuries and absentees.
Players like Firmino, Joel Matip and Alisson Becker are all out with COVID while manager Jurgen Klopp has also tested positive. Apart from these players, Liverpool have just let Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita leave for the Africa Cup of Nations so they too will be missing for some time.
And this is why the Anfield outfit have formally requested the EFL to reschedule the Arsenal vs Liverpool game to a later date.
An official statement read: “The Reds have formally requested to the EFL that the fixture is rescheduled after further suspected positive tests were registered among players and staff, allied to other factors impacting selection, including illness and injury.
“With no prospect of the current situation improving ahead of Thursday’s fixture and the potential for it to worsen, the club considers it both prudent and reasonable to ask for the fixture to be rescheduled.”
🚨 NEW: Liverpool’s training session at 4pm has been cancelled ahead of the match on Thursday night due to further positive COVID-19 tests in Jurgen Klopp’s squad. The club’s training ground remains open, however. #awlive [@JamesPearceLFC] pic.twitter.com/IJweLhCi4U
— Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) January 4, 2022
Will the Arsenal vs Liverpool game be postponed?
From what we know(as per the various public sources), here’s the list of players who are currently available for the Arsenal vs Liverpool game.
Kelleher
Van Dijk
Konate
Trent
Tsikimas
Curtis Jones
Oxlade
Fabinho
Jota
Origi
Harvey Elliot
There’s no denying that this is a really thin squad to field a team against Arsenal but the Gunners themselves have sent out a handful of players for the AFCON so this could very well turn out to be an even content.
As per the rules of the EFL Cup, the committee will first and try to reschedule this game but this cannot be done then the two-legged tie will be turned into a one-off fixture. But if even this is not possible then Arsenal will be awarded a bye(a situation which is really rare).
Here’s a snippet from the EFL Cup rule book:
The EFL will have to come to a decision really quickly and given the number of Premier League games that had to be postponed recently, there’s a big chance that the Arsenal vs Liverpool game is all called off for the time being.
