Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that Liverpool can succeed in their Carabao Cup quarter-final clash against Aston Villa despite a severe fixture headache.
The EFL confirmed the fixture for Liverpool 's clash against Dean Smith's side at Villa Park will take place at 19:45 on December 17th, less than 24 hours before the Club World Cup semi-final in Qatar.
That decision has left the Reds likely having to utilise two completely different squads for the two matches on different continents and follows Jurgen Klopp's statement after the penalty shoot-out victory over Arsenal that they could forfeit the game.
However, despite the fixture nightmare that Liverpool face, Gunners legend Wenger believes that Liverpool can advance to the two-legged semi-finals even if they name a fringe side for the clash.
“It’s the price you pay for success. Liverpool are a successful team at the moment, they have won the Champions League so they have to play the World Cup ,” he told BeIN Sport.
“It happened to Real Madrid, it happens to everybody that it is not in an ideal moment of the season and I can understand that but, on the other hand, you cannot com[lain because you’re successful.
“They have to play. They can beat Aston Villa, anybody in a big club in England plays the Carabao Cup with a youth team, basically, they did that against Arsenal recently and drew 5-5.
“I don’t think it’s a big problem for the club and I believe they can adapt to get through, even if they play with a younger team.
“Sometimes it gives you an opportunity as well, in the Carabao Cup, to play some players who have come back from injury or do not play enough competitions, so you can get them fit and competitive because you have this cup.”
