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Liverpool’s potential competition in the next round of the FA Cup has been decided. Should the Reds survive the replay at Anfield on February 4th against Shrewsbury Town, then they will face Chelsea in the next round.
The match will take place sometime in the first week of March.
No one is happy that Liverpool have added another match to their busy schedule after only managing a draw when they traveled to New Meadow on Sunday. Fair play to Shrewsbury, they fought back valiantly to force the replay, but it comes right in the middle of Liverpool’s much-needed winter break.
Because of this, Klopp has stated that none of the senior players will be involved in the game at Anfield, and he’s handing over the reins to Neil Critchley for the second time this season. The fact that fixture congestion has required this workaround twice says something about the strain that the English FA puts on their teams.
Nothing can be done about it, though, and so it will be up to the academy kids to see the team through. At least the young favorites like Curtis Jones are getting some senior minutes and a chance to impress the boss. Hopefully this result will turn out better than their heavy defeat against Aston Villa in the League Cup earlier this season.