Liverpool will face Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, while League One side Bradford City will host Manchester City. League Two Fleetwood Town drew a home tie against the winner of Everton vs. Newcastle, and Crystal Palace will host Sunderland in an all-Premier League clash. The quarter-finals will be played during the week commencing December 14.
Fleetwood Town earned their home tie by knocking out Premier League champions Arsenal. Liverpool beat Chelsea on penalties to set up the meeting with Andoni Iraola’s former club Bournemouth, who advanced in style with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa.
Manchester City also needed a penalty shootout to beat Brighton. Bradford, their opponents in the next round, beat Peterborough 2-0. Eddie Nketiah scored the only goal as Palace won at Fulham, and Sunderland overcame Brentford 3-2 to book their place in the last eight.
Iraola Says Bournemouth Was the Team He Did Not Want
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola received a quarter-final against the one side he wanted to avoid: his former club, Bournemouth. It has already been a season of reunions for Iraola. He defeated friend and former teammate Inigo Perez in the Champions League, then faced fellow Basque Xabi Alonso, with whom he has been close since they were young. He also won on his first return to the Vitality Stadium.
He had hoped to avoid a rematch so soon, but the Cherries were drawn against the Reds. The only advantage is that the tie will be played at Anfield.
“I was talking before the draw and said ‘The only team that I don’t want is Bournemouth’,” Iraola said. “For me, it’s special, but they know me very well, they are playing very well lately, in a good moment. But it is what it is.”
He added: “We haven’t been very lucky with the draws. We played Spurs, Chelsea already, now Bournemouth, that is going to be obviously special for me. But we have to earn the right to be in the semi-finals and I hope we can do it here at home again.”
Iraola also focused on the result itself. “In the end, in cup competitions, what matters is that you are in the next round, and you are in the draw, and luckily for us we finished on the right side of the penalty shoot-out,” he said. “We are pleased because the players have done a very big effort today and at least we get the reward of being in the quarter-finals.”