Liverpool cruised into the League Cup fourth round in second gear last night, and with a second-string team. Reaction to that and the latest rumour mill news comes today.
Anfield in line for short-term and long-term changes
First up, the imminent change: clubs in the Championship and Premier League will be able to offer licensed standing areas in their stadium from the start of 2022.
Safe standing has not been around in England’s elite level for 25 years and the trial will run through to the end of the season, with plenty of criteria for clubs to meet if they want to be part of the movement. It is of course a sensitive topic for Liverpool in particular, but supporters are broadly on board with the approach given the vast improvements in safety and protocols to follow.
Secondly, and starting sooner but not finishing until 23/24, is the next Anfield expansion.
7,000 seats will be added to give the Reds a capacity total of just over 61,000 – the third-largest in the Premier League. Work starts next month!
New year moves
One in, one out in January? The rumours are starting up already.
FC Basel tried to get Loris Karius in the summer but couldn’t arrange a permanent or loan deal to Liverpool’s liking – but they’ll be back in the winter window to try and land the once-promising German stopper.
SportBild are among the outlets suggesting as much, though they will have to improve on their offer to Karius too, who rejected their overtures in the summer.
The same outlet say Liverpool and Bayern Munich are the two clubs closely watching Salzburg striker Karim Adeyemi and, although there’s no release clause for the attacker, the Austrians will find it tough to keep hold of him if a bid arrives in January.
Fixture changes for November
The Reds have confirmed two games have been moved for TV in November, both to be shown on Sky Sports – so that’s the opening four fixtures of the month being broadcast. Saints remains a 3pm kick-off on Saturday, so no TV there, and the Everton match has yet to be confirmed for TV, with that round of fixtures included in the December picks.
- Atletico (H) – CL – 3rd Nov, 8pm – BT Sport
- West Ham (A) – PL – 7th Nov, 4.30pm – Sky Sports
- Arsenal (H) – PL – 20th Nov, 5:30pm – Sky Sports
- Porto (H) – CL – 24th Nov, 8pm – BT Sport
- Southampton (H) – PL – 27th Nov, 3pm – Not on UK TV
- Everton (A) – PL – 30th Nov, 7:45pm – TBD
Latest Liverpool FC news
- Taki Minamino was praised by Klopp after his two goals at Norwich, saying he “deserved” his big impact
- Joe Gomez was delighted to be named captain of the Reds last night, but acknowledges he still has work to do to reach his best level after a long-term injury
- And the boss has offered his thoughts on Liverpool’s three debutants in the Cup win at Carrow Road
Latest Premier League chat
- James Rodriguez has decided moving to Qatar and never being heard of again in the proper football world is preferable to staying at Everton
- Tariq Lamptey is finally set for a return from injury after a long lay-off with Brighton – and so is noted face-gurner Phil Jones, after nearly two years of what must have been hell, being injured and watching Marcos Rojo play more than him
- Bernd Leno is being added to Arsenal‘s ever-growing pile of transfer-listed players, which will likely sit ignored by the rest of Europe for another year
Tweet of the day and match of the night
Heard you kicked the grass, lad? pic.twitter.com/tTW4NHPEFh
— Trev Downey (@downeytrev) September 22, 2021
Tonight’s League Cup fixtures should be as easy-watching as ours was. Sevilla vs Valencia if not, 6:30pm.
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