THE first legs of the Carabao Cup semi-finals will take place this week.
Ties will see Middlesbrough host Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea at the Riverside Stadium while Fulham travel to Anfield to face Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp’s men are favourites to win the trophy and extend their record amount of EFL Cups to ten.
Championship side Middlesbrough will be hoping to prove doubters wrong by producing an upset against Premier League Chelsea and book their place in the Carabao Cup final.
Boro’s last major trophy was the 2004 Carling Cup when Gareth Southgate was captain.
Five-time winners Chelsea will be hoping to end their nine-year wait for an EFL trophy.
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Fulham have never won a major trophy in their 145-year history with the closest they’ve come was under Roy Hodgson in 2010 reaching the Europa League final.
In recent years, VAR has been heavily used in the competition.
However, in this season’s Carabao Cup semi-final ties, VAR will not be in use – and SunSport has the reason why.
Why is VAR not in use for Carabao Cup semi-final matches?
VAR will not be available in Carabao Cup semi-final matches due to Middlesbrough not having the necessary technology at their Riverside Stadium.
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The other semi-final tie between Liverpool and Fulham will not be played with VAR as well.
Fans have been left bemused by the decision due to Anfield and Craven Cottage both being available to have the technology in use.
A decision was made not to use the technology in order to “maintain fairness and consistency” within the cup competition.
What have the EFL said about no VAR in Carabao Cup semi-final matches?
A spokesperson for the EFL said: “There will be no VAR used in the semi-finals because it was not possible for the technology to be used at Middlesbrough.
“It was decided it was fairer to not use it in any of the four semi-final games as a result.
“The FA took a different approach (with the FA Cup) but we felt this was the way to go.
“If it couldn’t be used in one of the games, it won’t be used in any of the four semi-final legs.
“However, VAR will be used for the final regardless of who is playing in it as the technology is already installed at Wembley.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
