Liverpool and Norwich head into Wednesday evening’s FA Cup fifth-round clash at Anfield in contrasting spirits.
The Reds are buoyant after dramatically beating Chelsea 11-10 on penalties in the Carabao Cup final at the weekend, not only winning the competition for a record ninth time and extending their winning streak in all competitions to ten games but keeping their hopes of an unprecedented quadruple alive.
Ending the season with the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup in their grasp may ultimately prove beyond them but the Merseysiders will be confident of at least improving a remarkably poor FA Cup record under Jurgen Klopp - with this just the second time they’ve reached the fifth round since the German took charge and never having made it beyond this point.
For Norwich, the surge of January optimism when they beat Everton, Watford and then downed Wolves in the FA Cup in consecutive matches has abated somewhat since as results have dropped off, with last Friday’s lifeless 2-0 defeat to Southampton leaving them rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table.
Survival is the number one aim for Canaries boss Dean Smith, so while the FA Cup may help re-capture some momentum, they would be forgiven for having half an eye on upcoming crunch clashes against Brentford and Leeds in the league.
Here’s everything you need to know about the FA Cup game at Anfield.
When is it?
The match will kick-off at 20:15 GMT on Wednesday, 2 March at Anfield, Liverpool.
How can I watch?
The match will be shown live on live on ITV 1 and the ITV Hub, with coverage starting at 19:30 GMT.
What’s the team news?
Thiago Alcantara pulled up with a tight hamstring during the warm-up ahead of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final and Roberto Firmino hadn’t recovered in time from a groin injury to feature, with both Liverpool players set to miss this match as well.
Diogo Jota returned from his ankle injury as a substitute at Wembley, although looked short of fitness, while the fact that the Reds are still fighting on so many fronts makes rotation likely - as Kostas Tsimikas, Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones, Divock Origi and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could all come into the line-up.
Norwich centre-back Grant Hanley is suspended after being booked in both the third and fourth-round wins, meaning Christoph Zimmermann is likely to deputise, while Dean Smith admitted he will also likely be without Max Aarons, Brandon Williams and Ozan Kabak at the back as all three battle various ailments. Andrew Omobamidele and Adam Idah remain long-term absentees for the Canaries.
Predicted line-ups
Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Gomez, Tsimikas; Elliott, Milner, Jones; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Origi, Minamino.
Norwich XI: Gunn; Byram, Zimmermann, Gibson, Giannoulis; McLean, Normann, Gilmour; Sargent, Pukki, Rashica.
Odds
Liverpool: 1/6
Draw: 6/1
Norwich: 13/1
Prediction
Truthfully, both sides may have their attentions elsewhere and although Liverpool’s recent FA Cup record is inexplicably poor - making an upset a very real possibility - even a much-changed Reds side may just about have too much for a distracted Norwich bereft of confidence. Liverpool 2-1 Norwich
