Liverpool vs West Ham LIVE: Carabao Cup news and lineups, Nunez and Chiesa to start for the Reds

With just 10 minutes to go until kick-off at Anfield, will Federico Chiesa impress on his debut for Liverpool?

Julen Lopetegui says his team faces a “big challenge” tonight.

“We will play against the current champions of the competition and we are at Anfield. [There is] great ambition and great expectations.

“Liverpool is a big team worldwide. [Arne Slot] is a very good coach. He shows that he is trying to continue the work of the last few years and make it his style – I think they are doing it very well.”

The Spaniard added that West Ham “will compete in all competitions to go as far as possible,” adding that they are “a team under construction” as they “have a lot of new players. [and] Players who have never played in the Premier League.

“They need to adapt as quickly as possible,” he added.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot said his team “will play with the best possible team, which means I might field different players because they are a bit more tired from playing so much. They will come in today and I will make the decision.”

“It's not just fans who like to win trophies – players and coaches do too. It's always nice to win something and I know that the club has won this trophy many times in its history, including last season, and in a very special way, with a lot of young players on the pitch.”

He says of West Ham that they had a “difficult start but played against some strong opponents”.

“I saw in their games that they had good phases. They signed a lot of players who haven't played yet, but maybe tomorrow will be a chance for them. They will come back stronger and they have a good coach.”

There are only two more League Cup matches left to be decided, but the postponement of one of those games means we won't know all the teams in the next round until October 1st.

Newcastle's away match at AFC Wimbledon was postponed due to rain on the London side's pitch, so the game was postponed and rescheduled for October 1 at St James' Park.

Tonight Arsenal face Bolton at the Emirates at 7.45pm BST to decide the other remaining game.

The Hammers have had a difficult start to the season under new coach Julen Lopetegui and are currently 14th in the Premier League.

A pathetic defensive performance resulted in a 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea last weekend. The week before, they needed a 95th-minute equaliser to draw with Fulham.

In the previous two weeks, a 2-0 win against Crystal Palace had been followed by a weekend defeat against Man City (3-1), and at the end of August the Hammers also won 1-0 against Bournemouth in the second round of this competition.

Liverpool have lost just one of their last five games, despite playing against opponents generally considered to be ‘tougher’.

The Reds comfortably beat Bournemouth 3-0 last weekend after travelling to the San Siro during the week, and they left Italy with a 3-1 win over AC Milan following a solid performance in the Champions League.

The previous game was one of the surprises of the season so far, as Nottingham Forest travelled to Anfield and went home with three points after earning a 1-0 win.

In the two games before this result, Liverpool had easily won against both Brentford (2-0) and old rivals Manchester United (3-0).

Tonight marks the 151st meeting between these two teams; the first took place in January 1901.

Liverpool have won 83 of their previous games, West Ham have won 29 and 38 have ended in a draw.

The two teams met three times last season, with Liverpool winning the home league game 3-1. The league game at the London Stadium ended in a 2-2 draw, while the Reds also beat West Ham 5-1 in this competition in December 2023.

Perhaps the most famous meeting between these two teams was the 2006 FA Cup Final, which ended in a 3-3 draw after normal time. The game is probably best remembered for two great goals from Steven Gerrard, the second of which was a stunning last-minute equaliser.

The game ended 3-1 on penalties for the Reds and gave them their seventh FA Cup.

West Ham XI: Fabianski; Coufal, Todibo, Kilman, Cresswell, Soucek, Alvarez, Soler, Bowen, Ings, Summerville.

Substitutes: Foderingham, Antonio, Paqueta, Kudus, Mavropanos, Rodriguez, Emerson, Wan-Bissaka, Irving.

The teams have been confirmed: Nunez will start at the top for Liverpool, Ings will play for the Hammers against his former team.

Here's a reminder of the first team news – we can expect the lineups to be announced in about five minutes.

Darwin Nunez will be hoping to start at striker for Arne Slot for the second consecutive season after scoring his first goal of the season against Bournemouth at the weekend.

Arne Slot has already hinted that Federico Chiesa could start for the first time since his summer signing, while Caoimhin Kelleher will continue in goal following Alisson's injury, with players such as Jarell Quansah, Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo hoping to start after their recent role as substitutes.

The Hammers could look to rotate after a slow start to the league season. Carlos Soler and Danny Ings could be among those hoping to start. Niclas Fullkrug will miss out through injury but otherwise Lopetegui has a full squad to choose from.