The first leg of Liverpool and Arsenal's EFL Carabao Cup semi-final will now take place on Thursday 13 January.
The first leg will be at Anfield as opposed to the Emirates Stadium with the reverse fixture taking place a week later.
This Thursday's first leg was postponed following an application from the Merseyside club, which the EFL (English Football League) accepted.
Liverpool announced on Wednesday morning their training ground would be closed for at least 48 hours and that Jurgen Klopp's assistant, Pep Lijnders, had tested positive.
Lijnders was due to travel with the team to Lonon as Klopp himself is also isolating.
Roberto Firmino, Alisson and Joel Matip all missed Liverpool's Premier League draw with Chelsea on Sunday after testing positive for the virus and would not have been cleared to return in time for Thursday's game.
The first leg of the @Carabao_Cup Semi-Final between @Arsenal and @LFC scheduled for Thursday 6 January has been postponed following a formal request by @LFC due to a severe outbreak of COVID infections amongst their management and playing staff.#EFL https://t.co/0Y7YOlLMrQ
— EFL Communications (@EFL_Comms) January 5, 2022
A statement from the EFL in relation to the decision to grant the postponement said they were doing it “reluctantly.”
"The first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Liverpool scheduled for Thursday 6 January 2022 has been postponed following a formal request by Liverpool due to a severe outbreak of COVID infections amongst their management and playing staff.
"The EFL has been in regular dialogue with the Club over the past 48 hours in an attempt to understand whether the tie could proceed but significant developments over this period have resulted in the Club reporting an ever-increasing number of COVID cases.
"Having now fully reviewed the circumstances involved, the League has accepted Liverpool’s request after determining, albeit reluctantly, that a postponement was the only option as the Club looks to mitigate against the further risk of infection amongst its squad and staff alongside ensuring public health was protected by not travelling from Liverpool to London."
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
