Liverpool's attention quickly turns towards the EFL Cup in midweek, as a clash against former player Xabi Alonso is on the cards when he leads his Chelsea team into the match

Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso has already dropped a clear decision on his team that will face Liverpool in midweek, when the Reds play host to the Blues in EFL Cup action.

It's a match that offers an opportunity for the Merseyside outfit to continue its search for possible silverware this season, having already beaten Tottenham in this competition to reach the fourth round.

In Chelsea, the home side faces a team in mixed form, after the west London side has shown plenty of positive and negative traits in the early weeks of the Alonso era.

The visitors haven't been short of goals, with plenty of quality in the forward line, but the defensive side of the game hasn't been quite as natural. There has been a challenge in balancing all of those elements to have some consistent success, which has been reflected in a team with four wins, one draw, and three defeats in the Premier League this season.

With Chelsea looking for a response to the 2-0 defeat to Tottenham over the weekend, the manager will be without some important players at his disposal.

Cole Palmer will be serving a one-match suspension, meaning he won't be available for selection, while Joao Pedro is a doubt after missing out against Spurs through injury.

One player who does seem certain to start, however, is Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders. The 21-year-old shot-stopper was called upon to start against Tottenham in the place of Emi Martinez, who had picked up a jaw injury the week before.

The youngster would have hoped for an ideal first start, but he made a costly error in the game, accidentally punching the ball into his own net to give Spurs the lead.

With Penders likely to be in goal for the coming weeks of the Premier League campaign in Martinez's absence, there have been questions about whether an academy option like Teddy Sharman-Lowe could feature instead.

However, Alonso has thrown his full support behind his goalkeeper, and has already claimed he will start against Liverpool. Speaking to the official Chelsea website, he said: "It’s part of the business; you need to deal with mistakes and we keep confidence in Mike [Penders] and he will be in goal against Liverpool.

"We win and we lose together and it’s part of the job to deal with mistakes, myself as well as everyone. We support Mike and Geo [Quenda] as well, the guys starting their first [Premier League] games. He will want to prove he can do better - and we also have to show that."

It confirms a key decision for the former Liverpool midfielder, who will be in the opposite dugout once again when facing his old team in midweek.

With both teams keen to make the next round of the EFL Cup, but mindful of the other challenges ahead of them this season, the balance between rotation and the result will be key when the lineups are named on Wednesday.