If ever the Football League needs a cheerleader for their premier knockout competition, they could do a lot worse than give Pep Lijnders a call.
Dismissed by many as an increasing irrelevance in a packed calendar, the Carabao Cup instead prompts enthusiasm and excitement from the Liverpool assistant manager.
"I love this competition," says Lijnderrs. "It means so much for us because it is the one that represents the whole club, not just the first-team squad. We have so much different talent, so many different kinds of players who are young, and it excites me to see a new generation."
No club has embraced the League Cup more than Liverpool, their dramatic penalty shoot-out victory in last season's final against Chelsea a record-breaking ninth triumph in a landmark 13th showpiece.
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The Reds begin their defence of the trophy at Anfield this evening with the third round visit of League One side Derby County. And, as has become customary in the early rounds under Jurgen Klopp, supporters can expect to see plenty of hints at the possible future direction of the club with a starting line-up packed with fringe players and youngsters.
The Academy hopefuls will follow a well-trodden path. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harvey Elliott and Caoimhin Kelleher are among those to have had their first taste of senior football in the League Cup, the latter the man of the match at Wembley in February.
Kelleher will start tonight - "If you shoot the last penalty, it would be a disgrace if we took him out now!" says Lijnders - and the goalkeeper's contribution in the final has been highlighted as justifying Liverpool's willingness to give youth an opportunity.
"If I see Caoimh celebrating in Wembley, taking the last penalty - he was 15 when we signed him, he was my goalie at that time - these moments for me mean 10 times more than even winning the competition," says Lijnders. "To see a young boy become a man with personality who can compete and has the bravery to take the last penalty - in the past he was a striker, that's why he shot into the top corner.
"If you work for this club, you have to trust young players because the generations before made this club. So we have to create again this kind of environment where young talent can step up and be decisive.
"So of course we're going to see them because it would be idiotic not to do that because the talent is huge. Otherwise, all the time, all the energy, all the money we invest, it doesn't make sense to have 200 young boys there running around and then not use them.
"They never let us down and they will never let us down and they will also pay back, that is their character. And we're going to see Scousers hopefully. Imagine a Scouser scoring in front of the Kop again!"
Among the youngsters likely to be involved in the matchday squad are 17-year-old midfielders Stefan Bajcetic and Bobby Clark. Left-back Luke Chambers, who featured in pre-season, could also be included, along with striker Layton Stewart and 16-year-old winger Ben Doak.
There will also be the opportunity of minutes for a number of senior players with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Calvin Ramsay, Nat Phillips, Fabio Carvalho, Curtis Jones, Kostas Tsimikas and Joe Gomez set to feature.
"Everybody who knows us now over the last years knows how we deal with this competition," adds Lijnders. “We want freshness and we want talent. We proved last year this competition gives moments for talent, and moments for the Academy and scouting department. We will need the full squad again to compete if we want to go for the cups.
“It’s a big opportunity and if you take it back to the first game last year, Conor Bradley on the right side was insane against Norwich! Kaide Gordon and even at Preston we played Harvey Blair, who was only an under-18 player.
“(For those) who are not playing as much at this moment, despite (the fact) a lot have played a lot of football as well, it’s a great moment to shine and to show their identity.”
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