EFL Cup: Preview, Head-to-head As Liverpool Host Fulham At Anfield

Premier League leader Liverpool will lock horns with Fulham in the first leg of their League Cup semifinals at Anfield on Wednesday.

Jürgen Klopp’s side won 4-3 when they met in the Premier League last month at Anfield. The Reds had to come from 3-2 down late on to turn things around, and now find themselves top of the table as well as in the final four of the EFL Cup.

Liverpool have won the trophy a record nine times and Klopp is hungry for more as his revamped side has seen plenty of youngsters step up in recent weeks as injuries have begun to pile up. Yes, Mohamed Salah is missing as he’s away on AFCON duty and they’re also missing Trent Alexander-Arnold to injury, but Liverpool are still capable of taking a big lead with them to Craven Cottage for the second leg.

For Fulham, they led 3-2 late on in the league at Anfield in December but ended up losing 4-3 in a wild game full of stunning goals. They will try to keep it tight and give Liverpool more than a scare and a draw to take back with them to west London would be a great result. Fulham have never won a major trophy in their history and they have never reached the final of this competition.

Head to Head

– Liverpool have lost just one of their last 10 Premier League games against Fulham (winning seven and drawing two), a 1-0 home loss in March 2021. Fulham have scored just four goals in 16 Premier League away games against Liverpool, and never more than once in a match.

– This will be Fulham’s first appearance in the semi-finals of this competition. The last time a first-time semi-finalist reached the final of the EFL Cup was in 2012-13, with Bradford City and Swansea City both doing so.

– Liverpool have never lost when playing the first leg of an EFL Cup semi-final at home, winning five and drawing three. They have also gone on to reach the final on six of the eight occasions their first leg has been at Anfield.

– In the last round, Fulham dumped Everton out of the competition on penalties at Goodison Park. There have been four occasions of a team eliminating both Merseyside clubs in the same EFL Cup campaign – Manchester City in 1969-70 and 2015-16 (winning the trophy both times), Arsenal in 2006-07 (losing the final) and Chelsea in 2007-08 (losing the final).