Liverpool’s Carabao Cup semi-final with Arsenal has been postponed, following a covid outbreak among the club’s players and staff.
The EFL have confirmed that the away leg of Liverpool ’s cup tie against the Gunners, originally scheduled for Thursday, has been moved to January 20. Though, the home leg on January 13 remains on the same date.
The decision follows the news of additional positive cases within the Liverpool camp that have resulted in the club cancelling training for the past two days.
With the number of new positive tests adding to the Reds’ already existing list of unavailable players, Liverpool fans shared their relief at the decision on social media.
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Alisson, Joel Matip, and Roberto Firmino, alongside Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, had all tested positive, prior to Liverpool’s game against Chelsea on Sunday.
Earlier today, assistant boss Pep Lijnders, who took charge in Klopp’s absence at the weekend, was confirmed to be one of the people that had tested positive on Tuesday.
In an official statement , the EFL confirmed they had “reluctantly” accepted Liverpool’s request to postpone the cup tie:
“The first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Liverpool scheduled for Thursday 6 January 2022 has been postponed following a formal request by Liverpool due to a severe outbreak of COVID infections amongst their management and playing staff.
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“The EFL has been in regular dialogue with the Club over the past 48 hours in an attempt to understand whether the tie could proceed but significant developments over this period have resulted in the Club reporting an ever-increasing number of COVID cases.
“Having now fully reviewed the circumstances involved, the League has accepted Liverpool’s request after determining, albeit reluctantly, that a postponement was the only option as the Club looks to mitigate against the further risk of infection amongst its squad and staff alongside ensuring public health was protected by not travelling from Liverpool to London.”
