Preview: Fulham vs. Liverpool: lineups, team news, and prediction

In the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final at Craven Cottage on Wednesday night, Fulham and Liverpool will battle it out for a spot at Wembley against either Chelsea or Middlesbrough.

In their first meeting at Anfield two weeks ago, the Cottagers came close to winning, but the game ended 2-1, leaving the Reds as the latest victims of a comeback.

Match Preview 

Fulham didn’t need any instruction in scoring goals at Anfield if December’s seven-goal display was any indication. This is true even though Liverpool won 4-3 in the Premier League extravaganza. Willian’s goal just 19 minutes into the game stunned the Kop into silence.

The former Chelsea player took advantage of an unusual error by Virgil van Dijk, and Fulham’s strong defence held firm until Curtis Jones’s extremely fortunate deflection equaliser, which arrived just moments before Cody Gakpo completed a classic Reds comeback.

At Anfield, Fulham’s demise came with the entrance of Gakpo and chaos agent Darwin Nunez, who finished the game with two assists, yet there was no sense of gloom and

Although Fulham’s demise at Anfield was sealed with the arrivals of Gakpo and chaos agent Darwin Nunez, who finished the game with two assists, there was still hope among the away supporters because their first-ever EFL Cup semi-final match is far from over.

With Fulham hoping to become the 37th different team to play in the EFL Cup final, they will have to overcome an ugly trend that has plagued many first-leg losers prior to them: only 25% of teams that were defeated in the first semi-final encounter managed to win the game in the second meeting.

Three days later, Fulham lost a West London derby against Chelsea due to Cole Palmer’s penalty kick, which deflated the Cottagers. Nevertheless, Silva’s team now hosts their Merseyside rivals at a venue where they have won five of their last six games across all competitions.

Although Fulham hasn’t lost an EFL Cup home match when playing in the top division since September 2007, the Reds have advanced to the final eight times in the nine prior seasons when Liverpool has won the first leg of an EFL Cup semi-final.

In such circumstances, only Middlesbrough in the 1997–98 season has denied Liverpool a spot in the trophy match. As they continue to chase a wonderful four pieces of silverware, the nine-time champions are now just 90 minutes away from making a record-extending 14th appearance in the EFL Cup final.

A storyline like the first leg of Liverpool’s Premier League match against Bournemouth emerged eleven days after the team’s narrow victory over Fulham. The Reds were frustrated in the first half at the Vitality, but in the second half they showed off their best shooting performance.

With a fifth consecutive victory across all competitions, Nunez’s two goals and Diogo Jota’s own brace led Jurgen Klopp’s team to a commanding 4-0 victory on the South Coast. This gave the Reds five points over Arsenal, Manchester City, and Aston Villa at the top of the Premier League table.

The Reds have scored two goals or more in each of those wins, and since Christmas Day, Klopp’s team has triumphed in three straight away games against Arsenal, Burnley, and Bournemouth without giving up a goal. While their previous two visits to Craven Cottage resulted in draws of 1-1 and 2-2, respectively, the same cannot be said for this encounter; a draw would be more than satisfactory.

Team news

Adama Traore, a Fulham player, is the only player under the medical team’s care at the moment. The Spaniard may be able to recover from his hamstring injury in time to play against the Reds, but the best he can hope for is a position on the bench.

While Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, and Fode Ballo-Toure, three players who represented their country at the Africa Cup of Nations, remain ineligible for selection, no new issues have surfaced following the Cottagers’ 1-0 loss to Chelsea two weekends ago.

Harrison Reed was only an unused substitute at Stamford Bridge after playing through illness in the first leg, but the Englishman is now primed to rejoin Joao Palhinha in the middle, and another goal for Willian would see him become just the third player to score in both legs of an EFL Cup semi-final against Liverpool, a feat previously achieved by Paul Merson and John Robertson.

Speaking of goal-scoring wingers, Mohamed Salah, the star player for Liverpool, has temporarily returned to Merseyside to receive treatment for a muscular injury he sustained during Egypt’s match against Ghana last Thursday. It is hoped that Salah will rejoin the national team in time for any potential semifinal.

Though Klopp will undoubtedly be missing Thiago Alcantara (hip), Stefan Bajcetic (calf), Joel Matip (ACL), Ben Doak (knee), Kostas Tsimikas (collarbone), Trent Alexander-Arnold (knee), and Andrew Robertson (shoulder) for a little bit longer, Wataru Endo is still active and productive for Japan.

It is possible that Dominik Szoboszlai’s thigh issue could get better in time for the Hungarian to play Fulham. His return would be especially welcome after Curtis Jones complained of stiffness in his hamstring against Bournemouth, though Jones’ substitution seemed to be more of a precautionary measure than a serious one.

Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Castagne, Adarabioyo, Diop, Robinson; Palhinha, Reed; Decordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian; Jimenez

Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez; Elliott, DarwinNunez, Gravenberch; Gakpo, Jota, Mac Allister

We say: Fulham 1-2 Liverpool (Liverpool win 4-2 on aggregate)

Liverpool is known for getting off to a poor start in the 2023–24 season, therefore Fulham, who has scored the opening goal in all five of their EFL Cup matches this season, might very well be riding high thanks to their early goal on Wednesday.

Silva’s team has no choice but to go all out, and even though Klopp’s fiery strikers can bite back even harder to send the Reds to Wembley, a defensively wobbly Liverpool team shouldn’t escape unscathed.