Liverpool to split squad in two for Club World Cup and Carabao Cup quarter-final vs Aston Villa

Liverpool will play two teams across two different continents on consecutive days next month after their EFL Cup quarter-final against Aston Villa was confirmed for its original date of 17 December.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are due to travel to Qatar that week to compete in the Club World Cup, with their semi-final in that competition scheduled for 18 December.

Klopp suggested last week that Liverpool could withdraw from the EFL Cup if no suitable date could be found for the quarter-final at Villa Park.

But on Tuesday, it was announced that the original date will be kept and Liverpool will split their squad across both competitions, playing one day after another.

In a statement, Liverpool said: “We will be utilising two playing squads simultaneously, with one squad participating in the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar and another in the Carabao Cup.

“The club would like to take this opportunity to underline that while this is not an ideal scenario, it is an outcome which was arrived at with the best interests of the competition, our fellow clubs and ourselves as the sole motivating factor.

“We would like to thank the EFL for their efforts to accommodate us and we can confirm alternative dates were discussed, but ultimately none were considered suitable without compromising the scheduling of the competition itself or placing an undue strain on our playing staff.”

The EFL ​said that Liverpool had committed to “fielding a team that is largely consistent with those that have participated in earlier rounds of this season’s competition.”

​Klopp has tended to play the club's younger players in the tournament, resting most of his first-team squad.

Dave Cookson, the EFL’s football services director, said: “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.”

The only other available date for the quarter-final with Villa was the week of 7 and 8 January, when the EFL Cup semi-finals are scheduled to be played.

Rescheduling the quarter-final until then could have had an adverse effect on the FA Cup if either Liverpool, Villa or their semi-final opponents required a third round replay. It may have also forced the Premier League clubs to curtail their inaugural winter break, set for mid-February.

The EFL added that they had reached “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.”