The Brewers

Liverpool travel to Burton-upon-Trent on Tuesday evening for their first League Cup match of the season. Burton Albion or The Brewers as they are known are a bit of a rags to riches fairytale, the club won the Conference in the 2008/2009 season and have reached the Championship in just six years.

Top image via burtonmail.co.uk, Bottom image via the72.co.uk
Jurgen Klopp hinted in his latest press conference that it is not likely seven or eight players will be switched for the tie on Tuesday night. In terms of injuries Liverpool are looking relatively strong and it is rumoured Joel Matip and Marko Grujic could feature.

For Burton they are unable to call upon John Mousinho who has a hamstring injury. A doubt hangs over the fitness of Tom Flanagan who has a thigh issue and John Brayford is unfortunately cup tied.

This game is the first time the two sides have ever met but Liverpool have a hit and miss record when it comes to lower ranked sides in the League Cup. After a poor performance against Burnley at the weekend the Reds will be looking for a boost on their trip to the Pirelli Stadium. On the flip side, Burton probably feel like we're ripe for the taking.

I saw Burton Albion play once at the Pirelli when my fella dragged me to a Wolves friendly. While you couldn't take much from the game due to the friendly aspect it is clear to see that they are no mugs, especially not on their prized home turf. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink did a great job managing the Brewers during the short time he was present but the returning Nigel Clough was the perfect man to re-take the helm.

Image via independent.co.uk
Burton have featured against Premier League teams in the League Cup on recent occasions and have had mixed fortunes. A loss to Fulham on penalties in 2013/2014 was followed by a win over Queens Park Rangers in the 2014/2015 season.

Liverpool on the other hand have had some very strong League Cup runs of late, namely of course going all the way to the final against Manchester City last season. The Reds are certainly no mugs in this competition and I get the feeling that Jurgen Klopp will have his eye on some cup silverware especially considering his side are not in Europe this season. Some argue he needs to focus solely on the league but I've always taken the opinion that if you want to be a truly great club, you've got to deal with it all, you can't just water down a game in order to press in another, plus, we lost to bloody Burnley anyway!

Enjoy the match folks, wherever you are watching!