Liverpool name youngest ever team for Carabao Cup clash with Aston Villa

Liverpool have named their youngest ever starting lineup as the Reds take on Aston Villa in a Carabao Cup quarter-final on Tuesday.

With the entire senior squad in Qatar for the Club World Cup, including manager Jurgen Klopp, the Reds are relying on a host of untested players at Villa Park. 

Neil Critchley, who manages Liverpool’s Under-23 side, will take charge of the team in the cup tie and he will be familiar with most of the players at his disposal. 

Harvey Elliott, 16, is one of the more familiar names in a line-up that has an average age of just 19 years and 182 days.

Elliott made history earlier this season when, at 16 years and 174 days, he became the youngest player to ever start a competitive game for Liverpool.

Liverpool fans will also get a chance to see highly-rated 17-year-old Sepp van den Berg in action, after the Dutch youth international defender  joined from PEC Zwolle in the summer. 

There are five debutants in Critchley’s team, as Tony Gallacher, Isaac Christie-Davies, Luis Longstaff, Morgan Boyes and Thomas Hill will all make their first senior appearances for the Reds.

Pedro Chirivella captains Liverpool and along with Isaac Christie-Davies, the two 22-year-olds represent the oldest players starting for the Reds at Villa Park.  

The youthful Liverpool side will face a huge challenge in Aston Villa, who have named a side full of senior players with experience in the Premier League. 

Villa have, however, opted to leave stars Jack Grealish and John McGinn out of their starting side. 

On Wednesday, Jurgen Klopp will see his side out against Monterrey in the Club World Cup semi-final in Doha, Qatar. 

Should the Reds get past the Liga MX side, they will face Flamengo in the final on Saturday after the Brazilian side beat Al-Hilal 3-1 in their semi-final

Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Hoever, Van den Berg, Boyes, Gallacher; Chirivella, Kane, Christie-Davies; Elliott, Hill, Longstaff.