The Carabao Cup semi-finals fixtures for the 2021-2022 season have been decided after Chelsea defeated Brentford 2-0 and Liverpool beat Leicester City 5-4 on penalties on Wednesday, December 22, 2021.
Also, Tottenham Hotspur defeated West Ham United 2-1 to book a place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. Earlier, Arsenal defeated Sunderland 5-1 to also grab a spot in the semi-finals stage of the competition.
Afterward, Liverpool were paired to play Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. The first leg will take place on Tuesday, January 4, 2022. At the time of publishing this report the kick-off time had not been decided.
After the first leg which will take place at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal will travel to Anfield stadium to take on Liverpool in the second leg on January 11.
The club that wins on aggregate will play either Tottenham Hotspur or Chelsea in the final of the Carabao Cup.
On the other hand, Chelsea has been paired with their London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur for the Carabao Cup semi-finals round. The first leg of the fixture will take place on January 4, 2021, at Stanford Bridge. After that, Chelsea will cross to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium to take on Spurs in the second leg on January 11.
The winner on aggregate will face either Arsenal or Liverpool in the final of the Carabao Cup. The final will take place at Wembley Stadium on 27 February 2022.
Aside from winning a trophy and the bragging rights of finishing the season with a trophy, the winner of the carabao Cup automatically qualifies for the play-off round of the 2022–2023 UEFA Europa Conference League.
After Tottenham Hotspur beat West Ham United to set up a Carabao Cup semi-final meeting with Chelsea, Tottenham coach Antonio Conte who has coached Chelsea in the past said the Carabao Cup has become a competition everyone wants to win because of how difficult it has become to win titles in England.
“First of all it’s good for Tottenham to reach a semi-final in this competition”, the coach told Sky Sports.
“You can see the names of the teams that reach this semi-final – Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea with us. It means that every club wants to try and lift this trophy.
“I remember in the past when I was in Chelsea this trophy was not secondary. But it was used to play with young players and players that did not start in the XI.
“Now I’m seeing in England that to win a trophy is very difficult and we have to beat important teams.”
🎙 "If you want something you have to work together"
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 22, 2021
Antonio Conte reflects on a job well done. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/2asFJiTkQ5
Meanwhile, Manchester City that won the last four editions of the tournament were knocked out of the competition by West Ham United in the fourth round. This means that the 2021-2022 edition of the competition will produce a new winner for the first time in five years.