January 05, (THEWILL) –Â The first leg of the English Football League (EFL) Carabao Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Liverpool, which was planned for Thursday night, has been postponed after the Reds requested it because of increased COVID-19 instances at Anfield.
On Tuesday night, Liverpool made an appeal to the EFL to have the game at the Emirates Stadium postponed. On Wednesday morning, the club revealed that their training ground had been temporarily closed to prevent the spread of virus.
A statement from the EFL to this effect read: “The first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Liverpool scheduled for Thursday 6 January 2022 has been postponed following a formal request by Liverpool due to a severe outbreak of COVID infections amongst their management and playing staff.
“The EFL has been in regular dialogue with the Club over the past 48 hours in an attempt to understand whether the tie could proceed but significant developments over this period have resulted in the Club reporting an ever-increasing number of COVID cases.
“Having now fully reviewed the circumstances involved, the League has accepted Liverpool’s request after determining, albeit reluctantly, that a postponement was the only option as the Club looks to mitigate against the further risk of infection amongst its squad and staff alongside ensuring public health was protected by not travelling from Liverpool to London.
“As a result of the postponement the order of the ties has now changed with the first of the two-legs to take place at Anfield on 13 January 2022 at 7.45pm. The rearranged game (now the 2nd leg) is scheduled to be played at the Emirates on 20 January 2022 at 7.45pm.”
After positive COVID-19 instances, manager Jurgen Klopp and assistant Pep Lijnders, as well as Alisson, Roberto Firmino, and Joel Matip, are all in isolation. No other players have tested positive, according to the club.
Injury has also sidelined Thiago, Divock Origi, Takumi Minamino, Nathaniel Phillips, and Harvey Elliott, while Mohamed Salah, Naby Keita, and Sadio Mane have all left for the African Cup of Nations.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
