Dion Dublin
Former England striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

Liverpool are being patient in these early stages.

Fulham are working so hard defensively to make sure there are no gaps in between the lines, happy to let Liverpool have the wide areas for the time being.

Really working on being tight and compact in the middle of the park.

Image source, Getty Images

The first save of the night comes from Bernd Leno, who gets down well to hold on to Curtis Jones' strike from the edge of the box after Tosin Adarabioyo had lost the ball 40 yards from his goal.

It was a save you'd expect Leno to make.

Liverpool have seen a lot of the ball and Harvey Elliott swings in a cross, but Tosin Adarabioyo heads it away.

We have no VAR in use tonight, because it could not be used in the Middlesbrough v Chelsea match yesterday, so it's not there for any of the semi-final ties.

Luis Diaz chases down Fulham centre-half Tosin Adarabioyo, who just about manages to get rid of it in time before the Liverpool man could steal possession inside the penalty area.

The visitors get us started at Anfield.

Dion Dublin
Former England striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool are still very potent, still have a huge backbone with regards to experience right through the starting side.

They've got Diogo Jota, Virgil van Dijk is back from illness, Ibrahima Konate has found this incredible strength in recent weeks, becoming a leader for the side even when van Dijk isn't there. You can go through the whole side and pick out such players.

Then you look at Conor Bradley, Ryan Gravenberch, players that need those senior heads around them in order to perform. A good balance to the side tonight, a really good balance.

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Assistant boss Pep Lijnders says Liverpool must utilise their "many weapons" to make up for the absence of key players in Wednesday's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Fulham.

Defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is out for "a few weeks" with a knee injury. Forward Mohamed Salah is away with Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations, while midfielder Wataru Endo is taking part in the Asian Cup with Japan.

"There's no 'irreplaceable'," said Lijnders.

"We have many weapons. We don't rely on one, two or three or four players. We're missing probably four or five core players from our leadership group - Robbo [Andy Robertson], Trent [Alexander-Arnold], Mo [Salah]. So yeah, missing three from the leaders. That's a blow, of course.

"I think the team has this hunger. It's the closest final we can reach. But we have to respect Fulham. They have a very clear way, a good offensive idea, really creative."

Mark Schwarzer
Former Fulham keeper on BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, Getty Images

Joao Palhinha is huge for Fulham, he has been an excellent signing for the club.

We saw how well he adapted to the Premier League last season, he was one of the best midfielders around. So I guess it is no surprise that he was on the verge of joining Bayern Munich in the summer. The only thing that surprised me was that no other clubs were interested in him at that point, that is how highly I rate him.

He has said in the past that he doesn't see himself at Fulham for the long term but for as long as he is here he will give 100% and do everything he can to deliver success.

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham boss Marco Silva says it is "more of an ambition than a dream" to get the club to the Carabao Cup final.

After beating Everton on penalties in the last round, they now face a tough challenge against 2022 winners Liverpool in the two-legged tie beginning at Anfield on Wednesday.

"It is going to be a remarkable situation for this football club," Silva said in his pre-match news conference.

"For our fans, we love that they are able to dream, which means we are doing something really good.

"For me, it is much more of an ambition than a dream. For me, it is an aim because we worked so hard to be there and we want to take another step by facing Liverpool and getting to the final.

"If you get to this stage [semi-final], you want to win more and have the ambition to be at Wembley."

Image source, Getty Images

In his news conference ahead of tonight's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at Anfield, Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders spoke of the emergence of young players into the side amid a host of recent injury issues to key personnel.

"One thing is that you want to produce your own players to be able to fight, compete and win prizes. The other reason why we have an academy and 250 players running, dreaming and hoping is that - in these moments when it's harder, when a season gets tough in terms of injuries - they can back you. So far, they always did.

"Conor [Bradley] and Bobby [Clark] are not back-up players, they are part of our squad. They are young, hungry and made for games like this.

"Look what happened with Jarell [Quansah]. We put him in at Newcastle when we were down to 10 men. After that, he feels our trust, he knows we really can rely on him and he makes the steps that he makes.

"Young players just need opportunities. They don't need criticism, they just need the trust from the coaching staff. That's what we try to do."

Gary Rose
BBC Sport at Anfield

Image source, BBC Sport

There's some good experience on the Liverpool bench that Jurgen Klopp can call upon is needed with the likes of Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, but there's also some youngsters who will be keen to get a chance to make an impression.

Among them is 21-year-old left-back Owen Beck, who was recalled at the start of this year from a loan at Dundee because of Liverpool's injury problems.

Oh and want a way to feel old? Beck is the great nephew of Liverpool legend Ian Rush.

Great. Nephew...

Dion Dublin
Former England striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, Getty Images

There are a few massive games that the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mo Salah and others could be missing for; both ties of this Carabao Cup semi-final, Bournemouth in the league, the FA Cup fourth round, Chelsea and then Arsenal at the Emirates, both in the league.

I look at tonight's side with Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister, Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, they are all first-teamers. They've also got Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez on the bench.

Jurgen Klopp has been creating this squad for occasions like tonight. They are still very, very strong even with all the injuries and absences.

BBC Sport travels to Germany, where Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen resume the Bundesliga season at the top of the table, to discover why the former Liverpool midfielder has become so highly rated as a coach.

Gary Rose
BBC Sport at Anfield

Image source, BBC Sport

Liverpool are League Cup specialists having won this trophy a record nine times, and while it is often seen as the least important of those that can be won by a Premier League side, Jurgen Klopp is taking it very seriously.

The Reds boss used his programme notes for tonight's game to say: "No one needs me to say how big a game this is. It speaks for itself.

"When you are only two steps away from a final at Wembley it makes sense to do everything that you possibly can to take them.

"We have done this in the past and the feeling was good - really good - so it would be nice if we could experience that feeling again."

Peter: 5 or 6 nil tonight, so when we go to Fulham and they win 2 nil... we go through.

Mark Schwarzer
Former Fulham keeper on BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, EPA

You lose a player like Aleksandar Mitrovic who scored a lot of goals for the team last season, he silenced the critics by proving he could play and score in the Premier League, and he was a huge loss.

There were big question marks when Fulham then signed Raul Jimenez in the summer, was he going to be enough?

Pre-injury Raul Jimenez was a very, very good player and a forward who always looked dangerous. He's taken time to get back but now it seems like he has found the right fit. Right place, right manager and he is getting back that self belief.

Image source, Reuters

Championship side Hull City have signed Liverpool winger Fabio Carvalho on loan until the end of the season.

The 21-year-old Portuguese spent the first half of the season on loan at RB Leipzig but only started one league game for the Bundesliga side.

Carvalho started his career with Fulham and scored 11 goals in 40 league appearances before joining Liverpool for £5m in July 2022.

He could make his Tigers debut in Friday's home game against Norwich.

"There's certain players who understand the game differently in a number 10 position. Allied to his pace, athleticism, his bravery to take the ball and finish actions are the reasons Liverpool signed him," Hull boss Liam Rosenior told BBC Radio Humberside., external

"He's really excited and he's looking forward to the challenge. He's ready to go on Friday, so there's a possibility he starts."