Liverpool to play two games in 24 hours in two different continents as Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at Aston Villa will go ahead on December 17

Liverpool's Carabao Cup match at Aston Villa will go ahead as originally planned on Tuesday December 17.

This comes despite the Reds' pleas to the EFL to re-schedule the quarter-final tie for a different week due to their involvement at the FIFA Club World Cup in December.

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The Reds booked their place in the last eight with a win on penalties against Arsenal, in a game which saw Jurgen Klopp leave out many of his regular first-team players.

However, Klopp stressed that a failure from the EFL to re-arrange the tie to a date that suits the club could lead to Liverpool withdrawing from the competition.

He also insisted Liverpool would not be forced to play two different teams for the matches if the tie at Villa was to go ahead.

Klopp said: “If we did play while in Qatar [for the Club World Cup] it would be two different teams but we cannot leave any players at home for the Carabao Cup.

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“We have two games there [in Qatar] in a very busy period. It is not that we can go there with 11 players and say these 11 guys play two games in Qatar and the other guys play back home against Aston Villa.

“It doesn’t work like that. We will make a decision, but not yet.”

However, Liverpool have backed down and the club says they will 'utilise two playing squads simultaneously', which will see one play in the Carabao Cup and the other feature in the Club World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday December 18.

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A statement read: "Liverpool Football Club can confirm our Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at Aston Villa will take place on Tuesday December 17, 2019.

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"As a result, we will be utilising two playing squads simultaneously, with one squad participating in the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar and another in the Carabao Cup.

"The club would like to take this opportunity to underline that while this is not an ideal scenario, it is an outcome which was arrived at with the best interests of the competition, our fellow clubs and ourselves as the sole motivating factor.

"We would like to thank the EFL for their efforts to accommodate us and we can confirm alternative dates were discussed, but ultimately none were considered suitable without compromising the scheduling of the competition itself or placing an undue strain on our playing staff.

Meanwhile, EFL Football Services Director Dave Cookson said: “The EFL is very aware of the challenges clubs face when participating across numerous competitions at home and abroad, and whilst we will always look to work with clubs our overwhelming priority has to be to protect the integrity of the Carabao Cup and ensure any decisions taken are in the best interests of the competition.

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“The EFL has long-acknowledged that this competition provides those clubs with large resources with the opportunity to rotate their squads knowing that teams who wish to be successful have to be prepared to play a large amount of matches over the course of the season.

“Therefore, in these exceptional circumstances the decision was taken having received clear assurances from the club that there will be a level of consistency in team selection, a feature which is key to ensuring integrity is maintained.

“We recognise the challenges Liverpool face in this matter and appreciate the efforts made to find a practical solution."

The other ties in the round see holders Manchester City travel to League One Oxford United, while Manchester United host the competition's lowest-ranked remaining team in Colchester United.

Meanwhile, Liverpool's Merseyside rivals Everton play Leicester at Goodison Park.