Liverpool preparations for Saturday’s FA Cup third round tie against Accrington Stanley have been disrupted as a result of the wintery weather affecting north west England.
The Reds were in action in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Tottenham Hotspur in north London on Wednesday night and jumped on what was hoped to be a quick flight back.
The plan was that the players and staff would arrive home that night, rather than staying over in the capital or going by road and being dropped off in the early hours of Thursday.
But the conditions ensured it wasn’t safe to land at John Lennon Airport in Liverpool. Instead, the flight ended up being diverted to Birmingham, with the party ground transferred back to Merseyside. So it actually did end up being the early hours when players and staff managed to get home.
The Times has reported that, in light of the travel chaos, Liverpool opted to cancel Thursday’s planned training session, primarily expected to be a warm-down. Arne Slot’s team will pick things up again on Friday and hope that there is no lasting effect from the disruption.
Things haven’t been plain sailing for Accrington either, forced to temporarily abandon their training ground this week because of the weather and host sessions at an indoor facility instead.
Slot went with a mostly full-strength lineup against Tottenham, which made the 1-0 defeat for the Premier League leaders a little surprising given contrasting Premier League form this season. But Slot would now be expected to heavily rotate for the FA Cup tie against League Two opposition.
Accrington’s league form has taken an upturn in 2025, winning both league games since the turn of the calendar year to rise up to 19th in the standings. They have knocked sixth tier Rushall Olympic and fellow League Two side Swindon Town out of the FA Cup to reach this stage.
