Liverpool vs. Middlesbrough: Capital One Cup

Coming off the back of an emphatic 4-0 win against Brentford, Boro will be in high spirits and full of confidence under the management of ex-Real Madrid player and assistant Aitor Karanka. One of Karanka’s potential threats is that of his compatriot Enrique García, better known as Kike. The 24 year old Spaniard has netted on 5 occasions in 10 appearances since arriving at The Riverside from Murcia for a reported fee of £2.7M and is proving to be a shrewd piece of business from Karanka and the club.

Another player enjoying a great run of form for Middleborough is current captain Grant Leadbitter who has scored 6 in his last 6 for the club putting him on 7 goals in all competitions, a fine return from midfield. Leadbitter could provide a problem for Liverpool’s defence on Tuesday as his set piece delivery has been lauded recently in the Championship and has been facetiously compared to Brazil legend Roberto Carlos by the Boro faithful.

Others players to watch on the night include ex-Red Daniel Ayala, who made 5 appearances for Liverpool in 09-10 Premier League campaign before leaving the club to play for numerous Championship sides and recently Norwich back in the top flight. Belgian striker Jelle Vossen (on loan from Genk) is another player to keep an eye on. Despite having not scored in his opening three appearances for the club, he boasts 12 appearances for his country and Champions League experience with his parent club.

Wingers Patrick Adomah and Emilio Nsue are two more players in form and could provide problems down the flanks with the latter having played for Spain youth ranks up to Under 21 level.

Don't call me James wrote:Think it'll be something close to this

Jones
Johnson - Skrtel - Kolo - Enrique
Rossiter/Lucas
Coutinho - Lallana
Markovic
Lambert - Borini

Nishy wrote:Coutinho and Henderson are out with injuries or knocks.fml

Red Alert wrote:I'd like to win some silverware please.