Liverpool - Chelsea

Cup week means both benches get a run out, so the question is which squad loses less by rotating. Chelsea lose more. Cole Palmer is suspended after his red card against Tottenham and Joao Pedro is out with a thigh problem, which removes the two players most likely to settle a tight night at Anfield. Emmanuel Emegha may get minutes as he comes back from a hamstring issue, but asking a debutant to carry an away tie of this size is a tall order. Liverpool will shuffle as well. There were six changes against Villarreal and four against Brighton, and more are promised here, with Jeremie Frimpong out injured and a couple of others carrying knocks. The difference is depth and venue. Even a heavily changed Liverpool side at home in a knockout tie has enough quality on the pitch to win a football match. The quarter ball line is the sensible way in. A home win pays in full, a draw after ninety minutes only costs half, and in a competition where ties drift into extra time that partial refund is worth more than the few extra pennies on the straight win. The draw is the live risk in any cup tie between two sides making changes, so covering half of it makes sense.