This Carabao Cup Tie Still Means Something at Anfield

Some fixtures never need a sales pitch, and Liverpool against Chelsea under the Anfield lights is one of them. The Carabao Cup sits below the league in prestige, but a place in the quarter finals is up for grabs tonight, and nobody inside the ground will be treating it as a formality.

Our take is that this one carries extra sharpness because both clubs are still working out what they look like under new management. Andoni Iraola has already tasted cup progress at Liverpool, having seen off Tottenham 3-1 in the previous round, while Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea have taken the scrappier route, scraping past Luton Town before surviving a wild 6-3 shootout against Leeds United.

A competition Liverpool know how to win

History between these two sides in this competition runs deep. They met in the 2022 and 2024 finals, and Liverpool came out on top both times. Add in the fact that Liverpool are the most decorated club in League Cup history with ten triumphs, and there is a genuine weight of expectation hanging over tonight, even if 2025’s final defeat to Newcastle United at Wembley is proof that history alone settles nothing.

Chelsea arrive with five League Cup wins of their own, so this is not a case of Liverpool simply strolling past a side with no pedigree in the competition. If anything, that shared history is part of what makes the fixture feel sharper than a routine fourth round tie.

Two new managers, one old rivalry

For Iraola, this is another early opportunity to put his stamp on a squad still adjusting to his methods. For Alonso, it is a test of whether Chelsea’s fresh start can survive one of English football’s most intimidating away days. Anfield has a habit of asking that exact question of visiting sides before a ball is even kicked, and tonight should be no different.

Whoever wins moves straight into the quarter final conversation, with the draw for the last eight following close behind. That adds an extra layer of incentive on a night when neither side wants their European or domestic form disrupted by an early cup exit.

How to watch

Kick off is at 8pm in the UK, with coverage starting from 7pm on Sky Sports Main Event and 7.30pm on ITV1. Fans without a Sky subscription can follow the game through ITVX, while Sky customers have the option of streaming via Sky Go.

Familiar, fierce and carrying genuine stakes for both new regimes, this is exactly the kind of cup night Anfield does best.