Liverpool will play two cup competitions on two continents in less than 24 hours next month after the EFL agreed to their request to stage the Carabao Cup quarter-final at Aston Villa as originally scheduled. Jürgen Klopp indicated the decision was made under pressure but was the least problematic solution available.

Klopp had threatened to withdraw Liverpool from the competition over a fixture clash with the Club World Cup and dismissed the idea of playing different teams in the competitions only on Friday. Liverpool have since requested the game at Villa Park takes place as planned on Tuesday 17 December – the day before their first game of the Club World Cup in Qatar. The EFL announced on Tuesday it had agreed to the proposal to avoid disruption to the semi-final stages, the FA Cup and future Premier League matches.

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Asked whether Liverpool had come under pressure from Fifa or the EFL to accept the unprecedented schedule, Klopp replied: “Kind of. Do you want me to be really in trouble with Fifa? No. Do we want to be in trouble with the EFL? Probably not. You only play the Club World Cup if you win the Champions League and that doesn’t happen in your life five million times. You have to take the opportunity.”

Liverpool have been in talks with the EFL for several months. The European champions have given a commitment to the EFL to field a team in the quarter-finals “that is largely consistent with those that have participated in earlier rounds of this season’s competition” and meets the competition’s selection requirements.

Klopp handed five youngsters their home debuts in the penalty shootout victory over Arsenal in the fourth round but also started players who would be expected to feature in Qatar – James Milner, Divock Origi, Joe Gomez, Naby Keïta, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Adam Lallana.

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Liverpool could field a similar side at Villa and fly first-team regulars to Qatar afterwards for their second CWC game on 21 December. No final decisions have been made on the composition of Klopp’s squads or on whether the manager will oversee both matches, although that is unlikely.

“We asked Aston Villa if they would come to Qatar and we can play the game there,” the Liverpool manager said, jokingly. “We have an idea how we do it but it’s too early to speak about it. We made a decision because all the other alternatives were more problems than solutions. This is how we can do it as good as possible for us. In these next couple of weeks we will make a decision about how it will look exactly but, in the end, they will play a Liverpool team 100%.”

The EFL’s football services director, Dave Cookson, said: “The EFL has long acknowledged this competition provides those clubs with large resources with the opportunity to rotate their squads knowing that teams who wish to be successful have to be prepared to play a large amount of matches over the course of the season.

“Therefore, in these exceptional circumstances the decision was taken having received clear assurances from the club that there will be a level of consistency in team selection, a feature which is key to ensuring integrity is maintained. We recognise the challenges Liverpool face in this matter and appreciate the efforts made to find a practical solution.”