Homegrown midfielder Curtis Jones is expected to captain the young Liverpool side that will face Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup in December, as Jürgen Klopp's regular first-team stars head to Qatar for the Club World Cup.
The Reds are set to take on Villa on 18 December, before playing a Club World Cup semi-final in Qatar the very next day.
Because of the unusual scheduling conflict, the Reds have opted to use two separate squads for the competitions, with one party leaving for Qatar to play in the FIFA showpiece event, while another (likely to be filled with youth and reserve players) would remain in England for domestic cup duties.
It has now been reported that Under-23 coach Neil Critchley is set to take charge of Liverpool for their Carabao Cup quarter-final tie, while Goal claim that 18-year-old Jones is likely to be given the honour of captaining the Reds when they face Villa.
Critchley's side is also set to include the likes of Rhian Brewster, Harvey Elliott, Ki-Jana Hoever, Neco Williams and Sepp van den Berg, in what will certainly be one of the most intriguing Liverpool lineups in recent memory.
Those youngsters have already featured for the senior side in earlier Carabao Cup fixtures against Arsenal and MK Dons, but they were bolstered by more experienced players in both games - including the likes of James Milner, Joe Gomez and Divock Origi.
However, the vast majority of Klopp's first team are expected to travel to the Club World Cup, meaning the side that remains in England could be made up entirely of academy talents.
Liverpool are keen to take both fixtures seriously, although Klopp wants to prioritise the Club World Cup as the Reds do not get the chance to play in that competition every season.
They will enter that competition at the semi-final stage, where they could come up against any of Hienghène Sport, Al-Sadd or Monterrey.
Copa Libertadores winners Flamengo have also booked their place in the semi-final thanks to Saturday's dramatic late victory over River Plate, and they are seen as one of the biggest threats to Liverpool in the competition.
Before they even kick a ball in Qatar, Liverpool will learn their fate in the Carabao Cup. The clash with Villa comes in the quarter-final stage, so the Reds will hope to get through unscathed in preparation for the later rounds.
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Source :
90min
