The Merseysiders, who have won a record nine League Cups, are the hosts for Wednesday night’s semi-final first leg, and they come into the game in fantastic form having only lost one of their last 13 games in all competitions while scoring a staggering 31 goals.

There were lots of goals the last time these two teams met at Anfield in the Premier League at the start of December. With a few minutes to go, Fulham were leading 3-2, only for Liverpool to snatch victory with two late goals.

Head-to-head, the prospects look daunting for Fulham, with Liverpool having won 10 of their last 15 meetings against Fulham's three wins – the last coming in March 2021 when they surprised Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield.

Their history in the League Cup looks even more worrying: Fulham have never beaten Liverpool in nine meetings, including losing 10-0 in September 1986!

However, the Cottagers should not be counted out, having recently beaten Arsenal 2-1 at home not long after their stunning back-to-back 5-0 home wins over Nottingham Forest and West Ham.

Here, Vodacom Soccer takes a look at some key battles and factors that Fulham will need to overcome to have any chance of reaching the Carabao Cup final, with the second leg to be played at Craven Cottage on January 24.

Jurgen Klopp vs Marco Silva

The two managers have faced each other eight times over the years, with Jurgen Klopp winning four and Marco Silva just the once.

Silva has faced Klopp while managing Fulham, Everton and Watford. They’ve had a few memorable meetings, none more so than in the Merseyside derby in 2018 during Silva’s stint as Everton manager.

This feisty game remained 0-0 until, in the 96th minute, Liverpool substitute Divock Origi finally broke the deadlock after reacting fastest to a shot that had hit the crossbar. Massive celebrations ensued, leading to Klopp having to apologise to Silva in the aftermath for his unprofessional celebrations.

Raul Jimenez vs Virgil van Dijk

Fulham’s Raul Jimenez has been in great form recently, scoring four goals in his last four games including a brace against Nottingham Forest.

Jimenez being clinical is key to Fulham's success against Liverpool – but the downside is he'll be facing Virgil van Dijk, who is back after illness and playing close to his best again this season.

Liverpool have kept the most clean sheets in the Premier League this season with seven, and at Anfield, Van Dijk has an incredible record of only losing one of the 90 games he has played there.

The Fulham striker has to be on top form to get the better of powerful centre-back Van Dijk but in his current form, he will be full of confidence.

Fulham's danger areas

In their last six games in the Premier League, Fulham have scored a total of 12 goals, with no fewer than seven of these coming from crosses.

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been ruled out for three weeks with a knee injury, which means he will miss both legs of Liverpool’s EFL Cup semi-final. In addition, Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas are both still sidelined with injuries.

This could mean there is a golden opportunity for Fulham to take full advantage with their threat from wide areas, especially with Andreas Pereira (who has created a club-high 37 chances in the Premier League this season) and Antonee Robinson (three assists from left-back) attacking Liverpool’s stand-in full-backs and whipping crosses in for Jimenez.

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Joao Palhinha vs Alexis Mac Allister

Another interesting battle will be in the middle of the park between two midfielders who could not be more different in playing styles.

Joao Palhinha is an absolute rock in the middle of the pitch. Last season the Portuguese averaged 2.4 successful tackles per game to top the Premier League by this metric - yet this season he has improved on this stat, averaging 2.8 successful tackles.

Argentinian World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister is much more known for his passing ability, averaging 59.9 accurate passes per game this season – higher than Bernardo Silva (55.5) and Douglas Luiz (54.7).

The varying styles of these two players will be fascinating to watch – and whichever player gets the better of the other could be a key to the result.

Missing Men - No Mo Salah

Fulham are missing important players to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in the form of Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi (Nigeria) and Fode Ballo-Toure (Senegal).

Liverpool are missing Wataru Endo to the Asian Cup – but the departure of Mo Salah to Afcon 2023 is what will give Fulham hope they can spring a surprise.

This season, the Egyptian magician has contributed 14 goals (joint first in the Premier League) and eight assists (also joint first).

In the seven games Salah has played against Fulham in the Premier League, he has scored and assisted a total of five times. Salah’s importance to Liverpool cannot be overstated, and the fact he is missing from both legs will improve Fulham's confidence massively.

Overall

With key players missing on both sides, it will be an uphill battle for Fulham to overcome this Liverpool team and reach the EFL Cup final for the first time.

But if they can win these specific battles on and off the pitch, history could be made when they bring the Reds back to Craven Cottage in a fortnight.

By Sam Herd

READ MORE: Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold faces extended absence due to knee injury

Five key battles Fulham must overcome to beat Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semis