The first leg of the League Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Liverpool on Thursday has been postponed due to a severe outbreak of Covid-19 infections at Liverpool, the English Football League (EFL) said on Wednesday.

Liverpool had requested the EFL on Tuesday to reschedule the game because of the rise in cases at the club.

The Merseyside club temporarily closed their training ground on Wednesday due to a rapidly growing number of suspected Covid-19 infections at the club.

“The first leg of the Carabao (League) Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Liverpool scheduled for Thursday 6 January 2022 has been postponed following a formal request by Liverpool due to a severe outbreak of Covid infections amongst their management and playing staff,” the EFL said in a statement.

As a result of the postponement, the order of the ties has been changed with the first of the two legs now taking place at Anfield on January 13, while the rearranged game will be played as the second leg at the Emirates on January 20.

Liverpool players Alisson Becker, Roberto Firmino and Joel Matip returned positive tests on Sunday, while manager Juergen Klopp tested positive at the weekend.

Assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders is among those suspected of having the novel coronavirus after latest round of tests. Lijnders took charge of the team in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea, when Klopp was isolating.

Back to EPL

Newcastle United have agreed a fee of $16 million with Atletico Madrid to sign England international fullback Kieran Trippier, multiple media reports said on Tuesday.

It will be Newcastle’s first signing since they were taken over by Saudi Arabian owners, who have been expected to flex their financial muscle in the January transfer window.

Arsenal charged

Arsenal have been charged for failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion during last weekend’s 2-1 Premier League defeat by Manchester City, the English Football Association (FA) said on Wednesday.

The FA said that the charge relate to the incident that took place in the 59th minute of Saturday’s match when Arsenal defender Gabriel was sent off after receiving a second yellow card.