Clinton Morrison
Former Republic of Ireland striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

He is a talent but he frustrates the life out of me. He gets into some great positions and sometimes he doesn't finish, and then he'll score a spectacular finish and then he looks like the real deal.

You still have to give him time. He is still young and adapting, but the one thing he does have is pace. The goals will come.

It was the Sports Personality of the Year awards last night and Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award.

The 72-year-old won eight league titles and three European Cups as a player and manager at Anfield.

Dalglish, who also led Blackburn to the title, is Scotland's most-capped male player and joint record goalscorer.

"I'll treasure this dearly," Dalglish said as he accepted the award. "All we did in football was to try and make people happy and the best way to make them happy was to get results.

"Fortunately we managed to do that a few times and if they enjoyed us winning it's only a fraction of the enjoyment we got from the support they gave us."

We're not just about the Carabao Cup tonight.

• There's Scottish Premiership football tonight, which you can follow here.
• Barcelona and Bayern Munich are in domestic action in Europe. Follow their games here.

West Ham United

West Ham boss David Moyes, on team selection tonight: "It is the fixtures, really. With how well the players have done in Europe, we’re trying to keep everybody ready if we can for this period. We’ve got Nayef Aguerd and Maxwel Cornet ill, and Aaron Cresswell was ill with it but he’s better so he’s back on the bench.

"It’s Liverpool we’re playing so it doesn’t matter when we come here, whether it be a cup or a league game, it’s an incredibly difficult game. We’ll go about the job tonight and we know we have to try and win it, either in normal time or through penalties, we need to try and do it to get through in the cup. We had a great result getting through against Arsenal so we’ll see if we can top it tonight."

We want to hear your thoughts about tonight's Carabao Cup match between Liverpool and West Ham.

Who will join the likes of Middlesbrough, Chelsea and Fulham in the semi-finals?

Will we see a second penalty shootout in as many nights on Merseyside, after Everton's elimination last night?

Get involved via the methods above.

Izzy Christiansen
Former Everton and England midfielder on BBC's Monday Night Club

I think it is a little bit naïve of Van Dijk to think that Manchester United were going to come and try and win because the players they had available, how they set up, was for a draw.

I think that Salah didn't fire. There were a couple of times when he cut inside and he didn't quite be as ruthless as he normally is.

Both Liverpool and West Ham have made changes to their starting XIs for this evening's Carabao Cup tie at Anfield.

For the hosts, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold are among the substitutes, while the likes of Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones get the nod from the off.

Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Gomez, Quansah, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Endo, Szoboszlai, Jones; Elliott, Nunez, Gakpo.

Subs: Adrian, Konate, Diaz, Salah, Clark, Gordon, McConnell, Alexander-Arnold, Bradley.

Image source, BBC Sport

West Ham have dropped Lucas Paqueta to the bench, with Pablo Fornals coming in. Jarrod Bowen leads the line, while the in-form Mohammed Kudus remains in David Moyes' XI.

West Ham XI:Areola; Coufal, Ogbonna (c), Mavropanos, Johnson; Alvarez, Soucek; Fornals, Kudus, Benrahma; Bowen.

Subs: Fabianski, Cresswell, Zouma, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta, Ings, Kehrer, Emerson, Mubama.

Image source, BBC Sport

Simon Stone
BBC Sport at Anfield

Sunday's goalless draw between Liverpool and Manchester United has largely been written off as terrible from the hosts.

Yet Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been delving a bit deeper. And he feels there were definite positive to take from the game.

"The counter-pressing was as good as it has been this season," he said in his programme notes. "The intensity levels were so high.

"Against an opponent many underestimated but we did not, we created a lot of scoring opportunities."

As well as finding a way through, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will be hoping his players also find their scoring boots again.

Despite a dominant display in which they had 34 shots on goal, the Reds could not find a way past Manchester United on Sunday as the game ended 0-0.

Scoring isn't usually a problem, however, having managed to hit the back of the net at least once in every game before the visit of Erik ten Hag's side.

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has used his programme notes to discuss needing to "find a way through" a busy December.

The Reds will play a total eight games this month as they fight in the Premier League, Europe and domestic cup competitions.

“I know people do not like to hear this but the period we are in is one in which everyone has to find a way through," he said. "There are no easy routes, no shortcuts and no comfortable passages. It is about digging in, moving on from one game to another and looking to pick up as many points and positive results as we can. I am not a native of England but I have been here long enough to know that this is always the way it is during December.

“Tonight we have another challenge and also another opportunity. The Carabao Cup is a competition that we have very fond memories of, from winning it back in 2022. The experiences of our run to Wembley will live with us for a long time but this does not mean only the special moments.

“It means also the memories of the hurdles we had to clear on the way, the opponents who were just as determined as we were to make it through to the final and the difficult moments when we find something within ourselves in order to keep going.

"This is what cup football is about and it will be no different tonight."

There's six changes for Liverpool tonight as Caoimhin Kelleher starts.

Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah, Curtis Jones, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott also come in.

There's also six changes for West Ham as Alphonse Areola, Dinos Mavropanos, Angelo Ogbonna, Ben Johnson, Pablo Fornals and Saïd Benrahma all start.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport at Anfield

Image source, Getty Images

Tonight is David Moyes' 21st game as an opposition manager at Anfield. He is still to win one.

The Scot's lack of success in away games against England's 'big' clubs is one of the reasons why Moyes' achievements tend to be accompanied with a 'but'.

Those reservations are not shared by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, as he explains in his programme notes.

"West Ham are a team that I really admire and in David Moyes they have a manager I have enormous respect for," he said.

"I don't know why but it sometimes feels David's work is not always appreciated as much as it should be but that is certainly not the case for me."

West Ham have been impacted by illness in the build up to this game, potentially hampering their bid for only a second victory at Anfield in 60 years.

However, Hammers' assistant manager Billy McKinlay is confident the Irons have what it takes to progress to the semi-finals of the competition for the first time in a decade.

"Success and winning gives you a couple of things - it makes you hungry for more and it gives you a feeling that you're capable of doing it and being successful and winning things," McKinlay said.

"I think that's been the case for our good run in the Europa League and we've done the business there. We're in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup so we're in a good place at the moment, we're hungry and looking to improve on that."

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez is "full of fire" and cannot be judged only on goals, says assistant boss Pep Lijnders.

The Uruguay international signed from Benfica for an initial £64m in 2022 and scored 15 goals for the Reds last term.

Nunez, 24, has seven this term but is 10 games without a goal.

"Darwin is playing a much better season than last year," Lijnders said. "If we only judge players on the goals that would be so unfair, because when we reach our targets or really were there to compete, it was always about the collective.

"I feel there is a good connection between Mo [Salah] and Darwin, the way they see each other, assist each other. The way he defends for the team, goes, chases back, his counter press as well.

"He helps us a lot when we are deep and we can play with him as a reference. He is learning but I like a lot, and I think this guy is full of fire. That's what our stadium likes and that's what we need as well, to lead the line in this way. He can only become better."

Image source, PA Media

The draw for the Carabao Cup semi-finals will be made after tonight's game between Liverpool and West Ham.

The semi-final first legs will be played during week beginning 8 January, with the second legs taking place in week beginning 22 January.

The winners of those last-four ties will progress to the final at Wembley on Sunday, 25 February.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Coming up tonight on BBC Radio 5 Live, we have Ian Dennis and Clinton Morrison at Anfield for the Carabao Cup quarter-final between Liverpool and West Ham.

You can listen via BBC Sounds or by clicking the speaker button at the top of this page.

Image source, Reuters

Chelsea, Fulham and Middlesbrough all secured their places in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup last night, leaving one more space left to fill.

Liverpool - the most successful side in the cup with nine titles - will be looking to keep themselves on course for trophy number 10 when they meet West Ham in tonight's final quarter-final tie.

The Hammers don't have a great record at Anfield, but bad runs are there to be ended, right?