Liverpool have had to wait an awful long time to get the Carabao Cup final defeat out of their collective system.

While Newcastle were parading the trophy around their city streets on Saturday, the Reds were still looking for a chance to put things right on the pitch.

After a long old international break – and an extra weekend of FA Cup action off – that will finally arrive on Wednesday night, as Anfield plays host to the Merseyside Derby.

It is a big game for Liverpool, who know that five more wins will see them crowned Premier League champions.

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But Everton are on a nine-match unbeaten run in the league under David Moyes and will head to their bitter rivals emboldened by the memory of James Tarkowski’s last second derby equaliser in February.

Coming on the back of an international break, Liverpool supporters may be fearing the worst from their tired-looking team.

However, with a surprising statistic emerging before the game, they may be feeling better about avenging last month’s late drama.

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Most Liverpool fans will have a sub-conscious feeling that their team does not stand up to perform after an international break.

The defeat against Nottingham Forest earlier in the season is a prime example of that, with the Reds beaten on home turf after coming back sluggish from trips around the world.

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According to liverpoolfc.com, though, that result was actually the outlier of Liverpool’s recent form.

Amazingly, they report the Reds have lost just two of their last 27 games immediately after returning from an international break.

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Of those 27, 20 have been won, with five draws and two defeats also recorded.

It is noted that the Forest result from September is one of those losses, but otherwise Liverpool fans should have reason to be confident of a good result on Wednesday.

One of the issues of coming back from an international break tends to be fitness problems picked up by players while with their countries.

But given they have a couple of extra days off this time around, that should not be a problem for the Liverpool squad this March.

Alisson Becker picked up a concussion issue while playing for Brazil, but the goalkeeper should hopefully be fine for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Ryan Gravenberch is expected to be fit after withdrawing from duty for the Netherlands.

Elsewhere, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley and Tyler Morton are all still missing, but no further problems have been reported for Arne Slot going into the game.
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