This archive report was first published on 23 December 2021.
Published on December 23, 2021, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Tottenham boss Antonio Conte have called for January's League Cup semi-finals to be switched to one-legged ties to ease fixture congestion.
Spurs have a backlog of three Premier League fixtures due to postponements for bad weather and coronavirus outbreaks among the squad, while Liverpool have also been impacted by four positive cases of Covid-19 over the past week.
As it stands, Liverpool will face Arsenal in the first two midweeks of January, while Conte will face his old club Chelsea in the last four.
"I think it would be better with one game absolutely, but obviously what I say is not too important," said Klopp, who revealed a Premier League managers' meeting will take place on Thursday to address a series of coronavirus concerns.
"If there are two games, then we will play two games. But it would be helpful if there was only one, true," added Klopp.
"The draw has us at Arsenal, I'm fine with that, we play there and see who is better and go for it," said Klopp.
"Nobody really takes player welfare seriously," said Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, amid concerns over the number of games being forced upon already stretched squads.
"I don't just speak about player welfare this year, I have been speaking about it for six years or maybe longer," said Klopp, who has consistently campaigned for fewer matches and the return of five substitutions to the Premier League in recent seasons.
