Xabi Alonso has named his Chelsea side to face Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday, October 28.

Chelsea have to overcome Liverpool in their own backyard to keep their Carabao Cup hopes alive. The Blues also look to bounce back from the disappointing 2-0 league defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

Blues manager Alonso has had to come up with a plan to deal with the absences of several key players, particularly Joao Pedro, who is out due to a thigh injury, and Cole Palmer, who is serving a one-match suspension.

Liverpool, meanwhile, hope to extend their four-game winning streak in all competitions, following the convincing league win over Brighton & Hove Albion last Sunday.

Both sides field rotated XIs.

Wesley Fofana starts in defence ahead of Levi Colwill for Chelsea, who seem to play with a back four. Malo Gusto is expected to start on the left, while Josh Acheampong operates as a right-back. That said, there is a possibility it is a 3-5-2 with Gusto and Pedro Neto as two wing-backs. 

Estevao Willian surprisingly does not make the starting XI, and neither does Geovany Quenda. Instead, Alonso opted for Morgan Rogers and Danny Welbeck.

Emmanuel Emegha is on the bench for Chelsea, as Alonso promised, just for the second time this season, and the summer signing will certainly hope to finally make his competitive debut for the club.

Romeo Lavia comes in to form a midfield three alongside Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson.

Andoni Iraola has also made some defensive changes for the hosts, with Joe Gomez and Konstantinos Tsimikas coming in for Jeremy Jacquet and Milos Kerkez, respectively.

Ryan Gravenberch starts in midfield alongside Trey Nyoni, who replaces Alexis Mac Allister. James McConnell, meanwhile, starts as the number 10 ahead of Florian Wirtz, who only makes the bench after sustaining an ankle injury against Brighton.

Cody Gakpo is the only one from Liverpool's previous front three who keeps his spot, as Bradley Barcola and Alexander Isak are both on the bench, making way for Lewis Koumas and Rio Ngumoha.

Liverpool also start with their second-choice goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili instead of Alisson.

Here are the confirmed teams in full for Liverpool against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup.

Liverpool XI: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, Araujo, Gravenberch, Nyoni, McConnell, Koumas, Ngumoha, Gakpo

Bench: Alisson, Endo, Jacquet, Wirtz, Isak, Mac Allister, Chiesa, Barcola, Chambers

Chelsea XI: Penders, Acheampong, Fofana, Lacroix, Gusto, Caicedo, Lavia, Henderson, Neto, Rogers, Welbeck

Bench: Sharman-Lowe, Colwill, Subuloye, Palestra, Barco, Nicoll-Jazuli, Estevao, Quenda, Emegha