Liverpool faces fixture pile-up over League Cup game

LONDON (AP) — Liverpool’s progress to the League Cup quarterfinals has created a tricky scheduling problem due to the European champion’s involvement in the Club World Cup.

Liverpool is set to play its Club World Cup semifinal in Qatar on Dec. 18 in the midweek when the League Cup quarterfinal with Aston Villa is scheduled.

Liverpool has already postponed a Premier League match, at West Ham on Dec. 21, to go to the FIFA tournament.

Competition organizers say they are in discussions with Liverpool “to identify an alternative date.”

The League Cup semifinals are set to be played in the week starting Jan. 6, but the packed Premier League schedule around Christmas and New Year’s makes it difficult to find a suitable make-up date before then.

One possibility would be for Liverpool to play in both the League Cup in England and Club World Cup in Qatar at the same time — with two different teams.

Juergen Klopp made 11 changes to rest his senior players for Wednesday’s game against Arsenal that ended 5-5 after regulation time, with Liverpool winning 5-4 in a penalty shootout.

In other matches, fourth-tier club Colchester was drawn Thursday to play at Manchester United, having already knocked out Tottenham and Crystal Palace in the competition’s earlier rounds.

Manchester City, in search of a third successive League Cup title, will travel to Oxford, after beating Southampton on Tuesday.

Leicester will travel to Everton.