Liverpool prepare to make history and 19-year-old winger could be given chance

A chilly night in the middle of Yorkshire hardly seems the most obvious place for a landmark moment for Liverpool.

But Bradford City's Valley Parade - well, the University of Bradford Stadium to be precise - will host a small piece of Reds history when they play their first ever EFL Trophy knockout match on Tuesday evening (kick-off 7.30pm) in the northern section of the round of 32.

An under-21 side helmed by Barry Lewtas won through the group stages at the fifth attempt on the strength of their 3-0 win at Morecambe back in September - their first victory in the competition after 12 previous defeats.

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The young Reds were later beaten 5-2 at Blackpool and 2-1 at Barrow, but finished second on goal difference after the former - who are managed by ex-Liverpool Academy boss Neil Critchley - beat Morecambe 2-1 last month in the final group match.

"That was really good of Critch with Blackpool getting the win to send us through!" says Lewtas. "We will call it a joint effort on that one!

"I thought we were really competitive in all of our three group games. I thought Blackpool was a real standout test for us. They are a good team with a big squad under Critch, and that last 15 minutes was really tough on us.

"I felt (at) Morecambe we were really good value for the 3-0 win and then Barrow, again we competed really well and I thought it was a really good game. With us going through on goal difference, it just made everything count. We will look forward to the trip to Bradford City, another great test for us against a good team."

Mateusz Musialowski