Preston North End have not had an enjoyable start to the Championship season, sitting in 19th place with 15 points with Frankie McAvoy's managerial position under scrutiny from some supporters.

Last time out, they lost 2-0 to Blackpool in the first West Lancashire derby since 2013.

Their passage to this round of the cup was sealed with a 4-1 victory against Cheltenham Town, but they have just one win in six games since then.

Liverpool sit second in the Premier League standings, with Mo Salah in the form of his life as the Reds look to win a second title in three seasons. 

Jurgen Klopp's men are unbeaten in all competitions so far in this campaign, winning 3-0 at Norwich City in the previous round of the Carabao Cup.

Their last outing resulted in a historic 5-0 win away to rivals Manchester United, with Klopp likely to make eleven changes from the team that started that game.

  • Team news

Preston North End

Summer loan signing Josh Murphy is ruled out for a number of weeks with an ankle injury picked up in training.

Ched Evans (plantar fasciitis) is still sidelined, whilst Matthew Olosunde may be fit enough for the matchday squad after playing for the u23's at the weekend.

Scottish midfielder Ali McCann is fit to play after recovering from an ankle injury.  

Alan Browne is suspended after being sent off against Blackpool.

Liverpool

Liverpool have a number of key players missing, with James Milner (hamstring), Fabinho (knee), Thiago (calf) and Harvey Elliott (ankle) all sidelined.

Naby Keita is highly unlikely to play any part after being stretchered off against Manchester United, with the player still awaiting results of a scan on his injury.

Youngster Kaide Gordon would likely have figured in this game, but has not long returned from injury and will not be risked.

  • Predicted lineups

Preston North End (3-4-1-2)

Iversen; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; van den Berg, Ledson, Whiteman, Earl; Johnson; Riis, Maguire.

Liverpool (4-3-3)

Adrian; Williams, Gomez, Phillips, Tsimikas; Morton, Jones, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Minamino, Origi, Mane.

  • Ones to watch

Emil Riis Jakobsen

Jakobsen is a quick, explosive striker who looks to run at defences and shoot on sight. The former Danish U21 international was originally on Derby County's books, but returned to his homeland to join boyhood club Randers in 2018 and then came back to England with Preston in the summer of 2020.

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The Dane has netted nine goals in 16 games in all competitions this season, with four of those strikes coming in just three Carabao Cup games. The Lilywhites will pin their hopes on him netting against what is a strong Liverpool backline, even when rotated.

Takumi Minamino

The 26-year-old sealed a dream move to the Reds in January 2020, but has struggled to shine on Merseyside so far. The winger was plying his trade with Red Bull Salzburg when a good performance against Liverpool in the 2019/20 Champions League group stages caught the eyes of Jurgen Klopp and his board.

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The Japanese international has scored six goals in 33 games for Klopp's men since joining, and has struggled to stake a claim to play more regularly. After an injury-plagued loan spell at Southampton last season, he announced his return to the fold this campaign with two goals in Liverpool's 3-0 win at Norwich to seal their passage to this round of the cup. He will no doubt look to repeat this feat against Preston and remain in his boss' plans.

  • Previous meetings

The only meeting between these teams since 1962 was in January 2009, as Liverpool ran out 2-0 winners at Deepdale in the third round of the FA Cup.

Albert Riera and Fernando Torres were the goalscorers as the Reds cruised through to the next round.

This is the first ever League Cup meeting between the two teams.

This fixture has been played 86 times, with 26 Preston wins, 21 draws and 39 Liverpool wins.

  • How to watch

The game kicks off at 19:45 BST on Wednesday October 27.

It is live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, with coverage starting at 19:00.