Liverpool v Man City (agg 1 - 0)
Carling Cup semi-final, second leg
Venue: Anfield
Date: Wednesday, 25 January
Kick-off: 1945 GMT
TEAM NEWS
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany serves the last game of his four-match ban, so Stefan Savic is expected to continue at centre-back.
Mario Balotelli will also be banned if City decide not to appeal against his four-game suspension by Wednesday's 1800 GMT deadline.
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish may make changes to his side following their disappointing defeat to Bolton.
Jay Spearing remains an injury doubt and Luis Suarez is still suspended.
MATCH PREVIEW
Liverpool may hold the advantage going into the second leg of this Carling Cup semi-final, but their squad come into this match with a very different morale to that of opponents Manchester City following this weekend's results.
The Reds were abject in their defeat by Bolton, yet another match in which huge question marks were raised over the purchases manager Kenny Dalglish has made since returning to the club. His furious reaction to the performance of his players was pointed: "If that's the level they expect this football club to play at, they won't be here long," he said.
In contrast, Roberto Mancini's Manchester City side are on a high following their sensational injury-time win over Tottenham on Sunday that bore all the hallmarks of a side destined to win the title.
But they still have it all to do in this tie given they trail 1-0 after the first-leg.
Winning at Anfield is also not something they are accustomed to - it has been nine years since their last victory there. Given how intimidating the Kop can be on a midweek cup night - and Liverpool's desperation to play at Wembley for the first time since 1996 - Mancini's men may have it all do.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
This is the 165th meeting between the two clubs. Liverpool have won 81 times, Man City 42 and there have been 41 draws.
Their first match was in 1893 with Liverpool winning 1-0 at Hyde Road, Manchester.
Before the first-leg, they had met three times before in the League Cup. City beat Liverpool 3-2 in the third round en route to winning the cup in 1970. They lost 2-1 on aggregate in the semi-final of the 1980-81 season, with Liverpool winning the first leg 1-0 at Maine Road and the Reds went on to lift the trophy. In the 1995-96 season, Liverpool hammered City 4-0 in the third round.
Liverpool
Liverpool are the most successful club in League Cup history having won it seven times. They have also been runners-up on three occasions.
This is Liverpool's first home match in this season's Carling Cup, having won all five previous ties on the road.
They are participating in their 14th semi-final. Of the previous 13, 10 were won, including the last three.
The 2-0 away defeat to Chelsea in the 2007 quarter-finals is the only time they have failed to score in 43 League Cup outings.
Liverpool have been beaten only once in 23 games at Anfield since Kenny Dalglish's return as manager a year ago.
Manchester City
Manchester City won the League Cup in 1970 and 1976.
On the most recent of those finals, City trailed 1-0 to Middlesbrough after the first leg of the semi-final, played on Teesside. They won the tie 4-1 on aggregate, and went on to beat Newcastle in the final.
This is the fourth time they have taken a deficit into the second leg of a semi-final, and on two of the previous three they were unable to overturn it.
The 1-0 defeat in the opening leg, was the first time City had failed to score in 12 League Cup matches, since Tottenham's 2-0 victory in the fifth round in December 2007.
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