London - For a club which embraces trips to far, foreign lands, it is appropriate the first cup tie of the season will be staged in a venue that conjures images of Italy.
Burton’s Pirelli Stadium, however, is as continental as it will get for Liverpool in this campaign and it is here their current standing in the game will be put into sharp focus. With so many blank midweeks on the horizon, the EFL Cup must become their new Europe.
Jurgen Klopp said before the season that ‘no possible good’ could come from not having a European campaign to focus on but this prize presents the first chance to ensure their absence from the scene they love so much lasts no longer than 12 months.
Klopp guided Liverpool to the League Cup final within four months of taking over at Anfield - they lost on penalties to Manchester City at Wembley - but he recognises repeating the feat will be easier said than done.
On the banks of the River Trent, pitfalls await a squad humbled 2-0 by Burnley three days ago.
Should Liverpool slip up here, the scrutiny will be intensified. This, then, is a crucial task and Klopp was in no mood to downplay its significance. ‘We want to be as successful as possible,’ said Klopp, who is expected to give starts to Divock Origi, Emre Can and new signing Joel Matip.
‘Last year in the final it was nice, the result was not. We are professionals. It is the next opportunity for us to get a result and a trophy. It is not just about being in Europe.
‘This is important - 100 per cent important and you have to take what you get.
‘You cannot wish like it is Christmas and say, “OK, this year will really be a time to go to all finals because we don’t have many games”. That is not how it works. We have never shown a lack of respect to any competition. We prepare as best we can and we want to win.
‘I am really optimistic we will find a good line-up and then we have to perform. But there is always this kind of pressure whether we are in Europe or not. We have to show we can do better than Saturday.’
If this is a ‘can’t lose’ game for Klopp, the same term applies for Burton manager Nigel Clough but with a completely different context. Clough, who spent three years at Liverpool from 1993 to 1996, recognises this as almost a free hit for a club that was non-League seven years ago. It is an occasion he intends to embrace.
‘Playing Liverpool and Derby this week is not pressure,’ said Clough. ‘Having to get a point away at Doncaster to win promotion - that is pressure. This is a brilliant week for the club, not a crucial week.
‘Usually big games like this come later in the season and there’s a lot riding on them. That’s not the case. It’s 10 years since we played Manchester United in the FA Cup, so these games don’t come up very often. Ask our supporters.
‘We are riding the crest of a wave and loving every minute.’
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Sakho can go on loan
Liverpool are prepared to let Mamadou Sakho leave on loan in a quest to boost his fitness.
The 26-year-old centre back has been linked with Roma.
Sakho, who was sent home early from Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States after breaking club rules on three occasions, is now back in training after missing the first two matches with an Achilles problem.
Daily Mail