The fourth round of the EFL Cup will have the English powerhouses Manchester City and Liverpool facing off against one another at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday night. While the Reds required penalties to defeat Derby County in round three, Pep Guardiola's team eliminated Chelsea to move to the fourth round. The EFL Cup has been something of a customary prize for Guardiola since the Catalan coach touched down in Manchester, but the English champions have bigger fish to fry as they endeavor to dethrone surprise package Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table. As Man City resume domestic duties five points behind Arsenal in the rankings with their dramatic late loss to Brentford, the City boss must surely feel a sense of pride at seeing his old apprentice Mikel Arteta dominate the Premier League scene as Arsenal coach in recent months.

Guardiola's depleted side have only tested their mettle against Girona beating them 2-0 thanks to Haaland and De Bruyne's goals. Haaland and De Bruyne are once again set to be the standout names in a largely unrecognizable Man City squad, with Guardiola claiming that his side can only call upon "four or five" senior players as their World Cup contingent return in dribs and drabs. Man City, who won the EFL Cup four times in a row from 2018 to 2021, was famously eliminated from the competition on penalties by West Ham United in the fourth round last year and Liverpool have already proven their penalty-kick prowess in this year's edition. Liverpool snatched their golden ticket with both hands to defeat Chelsea on penalties in the final, and a battle of nerves from 12 yards was needed to settle their third-round tie with Derby County after an Anfield stalemate. 

The victory in the shootout would be Liverpool's third in four straight competitive victories prior to the World Cup break. During the World Cup break, Klopp's team competed in the four-team Dubai Super Cup, losing 3-1 to Lyon before crushing AC Milan 4-1, albeit losing both penalty shootouts for an additional point at the conclusion of the games. With Liverpool aiming to avoid just a second fourth-round exit in the EFL Cup since the turn of the millennium, having most recently been defeated at this stage by Arsenal - coincidentally on penalties - in the 2020–21 season, Klopp won't be losing sleep over past failures.