Liverpool’s passage to the Carabao Cup final this week has inadvertently created a potential headache for Jurgen Klopp further down the line.
The Reds are off to Wembley on 25 February to take on Chelsea as they seek to win the trophy for a record-extending 10th time, and that means one of their Premier League fixtures now needs to be rearranged.
We had been scheduled to play Luton in the top flight on 24 February, but our involvement in the Carabao Cup showpiece will see the Hatters visit Anfield on a different date.
That has yet to be confirmed, but from looking at Liverpool’s fixture calendar over the coming weeks, we can begin to narrow down potential dates for the match against Rob Edwards’ side to be refixed.
February
There’s a possibility that the game could be brought forward and played before the Carabao Cup final, with both clubs having two free midweeks in February on 13th/14th and 20th/21st. However, with those being Champions League matchweeks, permission would need to be sought from UEFA to play it on those dates.
That has been facilitated in the past, though – in 2022, Liverpool played a Premier League fixture at home to Leeds on the Wednesday prior to that year’s Carabao Cup decider, with the Whites’ visit to Anfield taking place on the same night as two matches in the Champions League round of 16.
There was a similar scenario the following month when the Reds won 2-0 at Arsenal, a game which clashed with ties in UEFA’s flagship club competition.
Furthermore, Manchester City will play a rearranged Premier League fixture against Brentford on 20 February, the same night as two Champions League ties, so consistency should allow for LFC to have a domestic fixture that midweek too.
If the European governing body decides to be awkward on this occasion and veto a clash with Champions League games, Liverpool v Luton could possibly be played on 7 February, although that date would only be free if neither team are involved in an FA Cup fourth round replay.
Another possibility which could open up is the 28th of the month, but only if both teams are knocked out of the FA Cup before the fifth round.
March
Here’s where it gets tricky – Liverpool wouldn’t have any spare midweek date in March for two reasons.
The Reds will be in Europa League round of 16 action on the 7th and 14th of that month, while the subsequent two midweeks are blocked off for international games such as the Euro 2024 play-offs to decide the final three berths for the finals in Germany.
April
There’s already a full round of Premier League games scheduled for the first midweek of April, and the Europa League quarter-finals take place over the subsequent two weeks, so Liverpool’s next spare date could be the 23rd/24th of that month.
It might be easy enough to accommodate for now, but if the Reds progress to the FA Cup final and are still in Europe at that point, they’d have two other top-flight fixtures to try and shoehorn into a rapidly diminishing number of available midweek slots.
May
The Europa League semi-finals take place on 2nd and 9th May, so again the rescheduling of the Luton match (or potential subsequent postponements) could be dependent on Liverpool’s progression on the continental stage.
The week commencing 13th May will definitely be free for Premier League games, and there’s likely to be a few rescheduled for that midweek, with the following Sunday being the final matchday and therefore necessitating all 10 games to kick off simultaneously.
Conclusion
Similar to what we saw in 2022, Liverpool could paradoxically be making life harder for themselves by progressing deep into the various cup competitions.
It’s not at all implausible that either or both of the Premier League fixtures away to Everton (16 March) and Fulham (20 April) may need to be moved if the Reds – or indeed either of their opponents – are still involved in the FA Cup at that point.
Also, every remaining Europa League matchday until the final is on the same week as Champions League games, so UEFA dispensation would need to be sought.
Therefore, Klopp might well be hoping that the Luton game is brought forward to a midweek date in February so that it’s cleared before the distinct possibility of further top-flight postponements should we preserve our interest in every other competition beyond Easter.
Either way, let’s hope a decision on the rescheduling is made soon, so that any supporters who were lucky enough in this week’s ballot to get a ticket for the Hatters’ trip to Anfield will then be able to make their own necessary arrangements.