Liverpool have the opportunity to advance towards Wembley with a win over the Cottagers.
Caoimhin Kelleher is set to be in front of goal for Liverpool tonight’s Carabao Cup match against Fulham.
The Reds will welcome Fulham for the semi-final first leg at Anfield. This puts them potentially just 180 minutes away from securing a spot at Wembley.
This would mark a notable milestone for Jurgen Klopp’s team, given their recent squad restructuring during the summer transfer window.
Even as Liverpool stand on the brink of the final, manager Jurgen Klopp might be tempted to play their primary goalkeeper, Alisson Becker. Yet, Kelleher has been the preferred choice for the Reds in this tournament.
He notably played a pivotal role in their penalty shootout triumph over Chelsea, which led them to championship glory two years prior.
The Republic of Ireland’s national goalkeeper is determined to keep Fulham at bay, pushing Liverpool closer to a prestigious Wembley appearance.
Echoing this sentiment, assistant manager Pep Lijnders confirmed on the club’s official website that, “Caoimh is our No.1 for this competition, so he will start tomorrow.”
Due to an unfortunate knee injury sustained in the recent 2-0 FA Cup win against Arsenal, Liverpool will need to make a positional change. Trent Alexander-Arnold will be sidelined for three weeks. Consequently, it is anticipated that Conor Bradley will step in as his replacement.
But Lijnders admits he’s unsure if wholesale tweaks will be made. He added: “It’s not the same [as previous rounds] because we played two days ago away at Arsenal, so that’s one.
“We come from a crazy schedule in December, so we really have to see who’s ready, who can go and who is fit to go. We are really happy that we play a semi-final in January, we wanted this. So we go full in.”
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