Last year looked to be the season that we could win ourselves an unprecedented quadruple but ended up being the campaign for domestic cups instead, now Liverpool are preparing for a replay in the third round of the FA Cup and an alarming statistic has come to light.
As shared by football data editor Michael Reid: ‘If (big if) Liverpool beat Wolves in the replay and face Brighton in the next round, it will mean that since 2017-18, 22 of #LFC’s 30 League Cup/FA Cup ties will have been against Premier League opposition’.
It’s a surprise to hear that Jurgen Klopp has so often been pitted against teams from the top tier of English football, despite having a large chance of facing many other clubs within this time period.
Rivals will probably point to how we did win both cups last season and faced the likes of Shrewsbury Town, Cardiff City and Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup last year but that shows how rare it was for us to face weaker opposition.
If we do strike lucky and are given the chance to face teams from lower down the football ladder, then the boss can rotate his squad and we will still have a big chance of winning the game.
Instead, we faced Julen Lopetegui’s club and now we face a replay before a possible further clash against Brighton – it seems that when it comes to the luck of the draw, we don’t always benefit.
You can view Liverpool’s cup opposition stat via @michael_reid11 on Twitter:
If (big if) Liverpool beat Wolves in the replay and face Brighton in the next round, it will mean that since 2017-18, 22 of #LFC's 30 League Cup/FA Cup ties will have been against Premier League opposition.
— Michael Reid (@michael_reid11) January 8, 2023