Liverpool vs Fulham LIVE! Carabao Cup result, match stream, latest updates today

Liverpool vs Fulham LIVE!

Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo scored three minutes apart as Liverpool fought back from a goal down to beat Fulham 2-1 in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final at a chilly Anfield on Wednesday.

Fulham threatened to hand the record nine-time League Cup winners their first home defeat across all competitions this season after Willian scored in the 19th minute. Capitalising on Virgil van Dijk's poor clearance, the Brazilian slotted home from the edge of the six-yard box between keeper Caoimhin Kelleher's legs. Premier League-leading Liverpool dominated possession and finally got the better of Fulham's well-organised back line when Jones netted in the 68th minute, his shot from 25 metres out taking a big deflection off the back of Tosin Adarabioyo.

Substitute Gakpo fired Liverpool in front in the 71st, tapping in Darwin Nunez's cross at the near post. Liverpool were missing Mohamed Salah, the Premier League's joint top scorer this season who is with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who injured his knee in Sunday's FA Cup third-round win over Arsenal.

Liverpool vs Fulham latest highlights

• GOAL! Gakpo fires Liverpool in front!

• GOAL! Jones equalises via a deflection

• GOAL! Willian against the run of play

Player ratings

22:02 , Alex Young

You can read Dom Smith's player ratings right here.

Full-time!

21:53 , Alex Young

95min: That's it! Liverpool in control of the tie after a fairly unconvincing opening hour at Anfield.

The second leg is at Craven Cottage in two weeks' time.

21:52 , Alex Young

91min: Four minutes added on.

21:48 , Alex Young

89min: Huge save from Leno to deny Nunez from close range. I'm not sure Leno knew too much about it, but he made his big and stops with his feet.

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87min: Liverpool just holding Fulham at bay as we approach injury time.

21:41 , Alex Young

82min: Oh my, Fulham are within inches of an equaliser until the offside flag has other ideas. Liverpool defence caught short there.

Dom Smith at Anfield

21:39 , Alex Young

Elastic save from Leno to deny Nunez’s header and keep the visitors in it as we enter the final 10 minutes.

Fulham are clinging on.

21:38 , Alex Young

77min: Fulham cannot get out of their half. Just trying to hang on to their one-goal deficit.

GOAL!

21:31 , Alex Young

71min: Fulham concede twice in quick succession at Anfield once again as Gakpo tucks home from close range after a smart Nunez cut-back.

GOAL!

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68min: Liverpool are level and it's very fortunate as Jones' effort from the edge of the area hits Tosin and flies over Leno and in.

21:23 , Alex Young

63min: Why hasn't De Cordova-Reid squared it?! The winger flies down the wing and had Pereira screaming for the ball in the penalty area, with a Liverpool player not in sight, but Cordova-Reid goes alone from a tight angle.

21:19 , Alex Young

60min: Nunez's first involvement is to whip a tempting cross towards Jota at the back post, but Leno intercepts.

Dom Smith at Anfield

21:18 , Alex Young

Liverpool have thrown an extra attacking player on now with that double substitution, and Darwin Nunez will provide them with a different sort of threat.

Fulham must be wary of his pace and his strength if they are to hold on here.

21:16 , Alex Young

57min: Klopp isn't messing around, bringing on Nunez and Gakpo. Gravenberch and Elliott are off.

21:15 , Alex Young

55min: Liverpool really piling on the pressure now. Jota picks the ball up and drives across the area, waiting for a moment to shoot before eventually being denied.

21:12 , Alex Young

52min: Willian screams for a foul as Konate shoves him over, but the referee isn't interested. David Coote isn't a popular man with either team tonight.

21:09 , Alex Young

49min: Best chance for Liverpool as Gravenberch drives towards the Fulham area, cuts onto his right and then sends a shot narrowly wide with Leno flat-footed.

Second half!

21:05 , Alex Young

46min: Back underway.

21:02 , Alex Young

Liverpool missing a spark in attack, I wonder which two absentees may have caused that?

It would also help is the real Virgil van Dijk came out in the second half, which is imminent.

Dom Smith's half-time thoughts

20:55 , Alex Young

An outstanding first-half shift from Fulham, who led 3-2 here at Anfield in the league with three minutes left to play back in December and take a 1-0 lead with them into half-time during this Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

Half-time!

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49min: ...and that's half-time as Gomez sends a speculative shot wide from the edge of the area!

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48min: Heart-in-mouth time for Konate with Kelleher out of his goal and Fulham forwards closing him down, but he boots it out of play.

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46min: Three minutes added on.

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45min: I tell you what, that's twice Van Dijk has fouled a Fulham player since his yellow card. He is walking a tightrope.

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42min: Leno is making no attempt to hide his time-wasting tactics at goal kicks, and Klopp is getting angrier by the second.

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40min: Not for the first time this season, the atmosphere at Anfield has a lot to be desired tonight.

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36min: Fulham dealing with everything Liverpool are showing at them well so far, and are proving a real threat on the counter.

Dom Smith at Anfield

20:34 , Alex Young

Liverpool ramping up the pressure as the first half wears on, but Fulham are defending diligently so far. Tosin and Palhinha have been excellent in that regard.

20:34 , Alex Young

30min: Better from Liverpool as Bradley, Elliott and Gravenberch combine to send the latter into the area, he looks up but cannot find Jota in the centre as Fulham clear.

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24min: Deary me, Pereira goes down like a sack of spuds after a palm in the face from Van Dijk. He's made a right meal out of that and the Liverpool captain gets booked.

20:24 , Alex Young

22min: Jota tries to hit back straightaway but he's flagged offside after having a speculative effort.

GOAL!

20:21 , Alex Young

20min: Well, well, well! Against the run of play, it's Fulham who lead!

Van Dijk makes a dreadful mistake to head the ball into Pereira's path, who finds Willian to dink past Elliott, hold off Van Dijk himself and fire home.

20:17 , Alex Young

16min: Best chance of the game so far as Jota carves open so some in the area to have a pop from an acute angle, but Leno has his angles right and there is no one there in Red to tap home at the back post.

Dom Smith at Anfield

20:13 , Alex Young

Really poor cross from Gomez flies straight behind for a goal kick, demonstrating the drop-off in quality that Liverpool have on the left flank whilst Robertson and Tsimikas are both injured. Gomez is a good player, but he’s certainly not a full-back!

He's not wrong.

20:12 , Alex Young

10min: Free kick to Liverpool, around 45 yards out, after a tumble with Pereira. Elliott lofts the ball in but the referee immediately spots a foul, so it's a Fulham ball.

20:09 , Alex Young

8min: Liverpool firmly on top already, their press not giving Fulham a second on the ball.

Bradley is sent into the area with a fine over-the-top from Elliott, but he can't find the cut-back.

20:07 , Alex Young

6min: It's a decent effort by Jones after a mistake by Tosin, the shot stinging Leno's palms but easy enough to collect.

Dom Smith at Anfield

20:06 , Alex Young

Alexis Mac Allister sat effectively in central defence in the opening moments of this semi-final first leg, punching simple passes to defenders to his left or right.

The Reds have the first chance of the game as Curtis Jones progresses forward and shoots straight at Bernd Leno.

20:06 , Alex Young

5min: Liverpool starting to assert themselves, pushing Fulham further back.

20:05 , Alex Young

3min: The first stages of the match being played within the same 30 yards in the middle of the pitch. Every player must have had a touch, apart from Kelleher.

Kick-off!

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1min: Here we go!

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Marco Silva has just been speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the game, insisting the absence of Salah and Alexander-Arnold does not necessarily weaken Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp then follows by praising young Bradley and points out Liverpool's youthful bench.

Neither manager giving much away. Kick-off is minutes away.

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No team has gone to Anfield and won so far this season - though Fulham did come within three minutes of doing so.

Can they go three minutes better tonight?

19:40 , Alex Young

Kick-off is fast approaching.

Changes galore

19:32 , Alex Young

So, 20-year-old Conor Bradley does deputise for Alexander-Arnold as one of five changes from Liverpool.

Van Dijk has shaken off an illness to return, though. Kelleher is back between the sticks as the second-choice goalkeeper.

It's also five changes for Fulham as Leno returns in goal and is joined in the team by Robinson,Palhinha, Willian and Jimenez.

Dom Smith at Anfield

19:27 , Alex Young

Fulham must target the wings tonight.

Injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold means 20-year-old Conor Bradley starts at right-back, while Joe Gomez — a centre-back by trade — continues to play at left-back where both Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas are sidelined.

Can Willian and Bobby De Cordova-Reid take advantage?

Dom Smith checks in

19:18 , Alex Young

Here's our man at Anfield.

Teams in full

19:03 , Alex Young

Liverpool XI: Kelleher, Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Jones, Elliott, Jota, Diaz

Subs: Alisson, Nunez, Gakpo, Clark, Gordon, McConnell, Beck, Quansah, Nyoni

Fulham XI: Leno; Castagne, Adarabioyo, Diop, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha; Willian, Pereira, Decordova-Reid; Jimenez

Subs: Rodak, Tete, Ream, Lukic, Francois, Cairney, Wilson, Muniz, Vinicius

Fulham XI

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...and the visitors!

Liverpool XI

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Here's how the hosts look.

18:57 , Alex Young

No huge surprises in the Liverpool team, which will be confirmed in a few minutes.

Betting odds

18:46 , Alex Young

Fulham have a tall order on their hands tonight, according to Betway.

Liverpool: 3/8

Draw: 4/1

Fulham: 6/1

18:37 , Alex Young

Team news is imminent. We're expecting two fairly strong teams.

Silva not thinking beyond tonight

18:29 , Alex Young

Marco Silva has almost masterminded one win at Anfield this season, only for Liverpool to score in the 87th and 88th minutes - will he get the job over the line in the Carabao Cup?

He's not thinking beyond tonight's first leg.

"You're talking about two games but, at the same time, you cannot be thinking about the second game if you don't do so well in the first," Silva said.

"This is where you have to have the right balance.

"I don't want the players just thinking about the second game, because if we don't do our job really well in the first one, probably the chances to be decisive at home are not going to be there.

"Because of that, we have to play really at our best level there."

Liverpool 'have many weapons'

18:16 , Alex Young

Liverpool assistant boss Pep Lijnders took press conference duties on Tuesday and said the squad must utilise their "many weapons" in the absence of star players.

Both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah will be missing tonight, the first through injury and the second due to Africa Cup of Nations commitments with Egypt.

"There's no 'irreplaceable'," said Lijnders. "We have many weapons. We don't rely on one, two or three or four players. We're missing probably four or five core players from our leadership group - Robbo [Andy Robertson], Trent, Mo.

"So yeah, missing three from the leaders. That's a blow, of course."

He added: "I think the team has this hunger. It's the closest final we can reach. But we have to respect Fulham. They have a very clear way, a good offensive idea, really creative."

Hannibal closes in on Sevilla loan

18:13 , Alex Young

Manchester United youngster Hannibal Mejbri is closing in on loan move to Sevilla for the remainder of this season.

Everton were also interested in the 20-year-old midfielder, but the LaLiga side are growing in confidence that a deal can be struck as the player's preference is with them. United would demand a loan fee, which could reportedly be worth seven figures.

Sevilla are also expected to include an option to make the move permanent in the summer, when the player would have just a year to run on his United contract after the club recently triggered an extension clause.

Read more here!

Head to head (h2h) history and results

18:03 , Alex Young

Liverpool wins: 43

Draws: 18

Fulham wins: 13

Score prediction

17:52 , Alex Young

Though Fulham have previous in pushing Liverpool all the way at Anfield this season, it would be a major shock to see the Reds lose at home.

Liverpool to win 2-1.

Ream faces fitness test

17:44 , Alex Young

Tim Ream tonight faces a late fitness test as Fulham travel to Liverpool in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.

The veteran centre-back has been absent since mid-December, but Fulham manager Marco Silva has said he may be fit enough to be named in the matchday squad against Liverpool.

Elsewhere, Adama Traore remains unavailable with the hamstring strain that has plagued him since September, while Fode Ballo-Toure, Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey are at the Africa Cup of Nations.

One in, one out for Liverpool

17:34 , Alex Young

Liverpool could tonight welcome back Virgil van Dijk for the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Fulham.

Van Dijk missed the FA Cup win over Arsenal due to illness, but Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders confirmed that the centre-back is available to face Fulham at Anfield on Wednesday night.

He said: “Virgil ran yesterday [Monday], while we were doing the training with the subs. He did a few jogs and was smiling and looked good. He will be back. He will be back.”

Alexander-Arnold, however, suffered a knee injury against the Gunners, and he is now expected to miss about three weeks of action.

It means the full-back is expected to miss both legs of the Carabao Cup semi-final, a Premier League clash against Bournemouth and an FA Cup match at home to Norwich or Bristol Rovers.

He faces a race to prove his fitness ahead of Chelsea's visit to Anfield on January 31.

Where to watch Liverpool vs Fulham

17:21 , Alex Young

TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on Sky Sports Football and Main Event, with coverage beginning at 7pm GMT for an 8pm kick-off.

Live stream: Subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app.

Welcome

17:15 , Alex Young

Good evening and welcome to the Standard's LIVE coverage of the Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg clash coverage of Liverpool vs Fulham.

Quite the mouthful, that.

We saw Middlesbrough beat Chelsea last night. While perhaps not the shock given the Blues' miserable form, could it inspire Fulham to a bigger scalp tonight?

Kick-off at Anfield is at 8pm. Stick with us.