Klopp will field two teams in 24 hours to avoid pile-up

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool felt compelled to agree the unprecedented scenario of fielding two different teams, in two different competitions, in two different time zones within 24 hours to resolve the club’s fixture chaos.

Liverpool will travel to Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup quarterfinal on the original scheduled date of Tuesday, Dec 17, despite playing in the semi-final of the Fifa Club World Cup in Qatar on Dec 18.

After joking: “We asked Aston Villa if they would come to Qatar and we could play the game there,” Klopp explained why they did not change the fixture date. “We’ve made a decision now because all the other alternatives were more problems than solutions and didn’t work out,” he said.

Although it is ultimately Liverpool’s choice to play in Qatar and remain in the Carabao Cup, Klopp indicated it is under duress.

“Did they say we must do it? Kind of … Do you want to be really in trouble with Fifa? I’m not sure. Do you want to really be in trouble with EFL? Probably not,” he said.

“We respect the competitions. It sounds like we don’t want to play in the Carabao Cup, but that’s not true. What I don’t like about the Carabao Cup is two legs in the semifinal. I don’t understand that. It’s in a busy period, I don’t like it.”

He added: “The Club World Cup you play in only if you win the Champions League. That doesn’t happen in your life five million times, and that means we take the opportunity.”

Klopp made 11 changes to his line-up for the fourth-round victory over Arsenal but still included senior players, and the EFL indicated Liverpool have agreed to play a side of similar strength.

The EFL released its own statement to explain why an alternative