Team news for the trip to Chelsea

Saturday night's encounter at Stamford Bridge (20:00 BST kick-off) is an important one in the context of the push for a UEFA Champions League spot, with the Reds currently seven points ahead of the Blues, in sixth place.

The top five in the final standings qualify for Europe's premier competition in 2026/27.

Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez are suspended, which means the boss has a big decision to make at the heart of his defence.

Maguire had an additional game added to his ban for the red card at Bournemouth, while Martinez is sidelined for three matches, in the wake of his controversial dismissal during the defeat to Leeds United.

"To be honest, there's not much we can react to," said Carrick. "Massively disappointed, of course. I think quite a few reasons to be disappointed in a big way over those types of situations over the last three weeks. But, obviously, now we've got to move on, the decisions have been made, it’s something that we're really disappointed with in many ways, but that's it now. We've got to move on and we will do."

Ayden Heaven is a possible replacement, with the boss clear about the potential of the England Under-20 international.

“I think Ayden’s in a good place," he said. “Well, I know he’s in a good place. He’s obviously still young and he's progressing through the early stages of his career, so I think it’s pretty natural for him to play some games and maybe not some others.

“He's training really well, he's learning, he's listening, he wants to improve. So, I think it’s pretty natural, for a centre-half of his age, he’s probably well ahead of schedule in terms of the games that he's played.

“He's trained well, I've got no worries. He went away and played with England a couple of weeks ago and done well, so yeah, [he's] looking forward to the game, for sure.”

Kobbie Mainoo is battling to be fit after missing the 2-1 loss to Leeds on Monday with an injury sustained in training. Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu is getting closer to a return but Matthijs de Ligt is still out.

“Patrick’s not [ready] no,” Carrick added. “He’s going well, he's rehabbing well, he's kind of on track, but he’s not with us in terms of training yet. But he's back on the pitch, as I've already said, so that's positive, that he's doing really well.

“Kobbie, [is doing] little bits yeah, we're working towards it. He's done little bits, so there's a decision to be made there.”

CHELSEA'S TEAM NEWS

Key midfielder Enzo Fernandez returns to the squad after serving a two-match ban imposed by the Blues.

Head coach Liam Rosenior hopes Trevoh Chalobah will be available as well but Levi Colwill is having an Under-21s outing before rejoining the first-team squad.

Filip Jorgensen, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Reece James and Mykhailo Mudryk are all set to remain sidelined.