Iraola vs. Alonso at Anfield: the cup is the excuse, identity is the test

Who cares about the Carabao Cup? Plenty of people will say nobody, and then spend Wednesday night watching Liverpool and Chelsea anyway. Our view: the trophy is the least interesting thing about this tie. The interesting part is that two managers who grew up together in the Basque region are, for the first time, building rival squads in public.

What we know going in

According to the BBC, Xabi Alonso returns to Anfield as Chelsea manager with a record of played two, lost two against Liverpool as a manager. Liverpool have won their last four games in all competitions under Andoni Iraola, who called Alonso a "close friend." Iraola also said there would "definitely be changes" but that Liverpool want to win.

Both teams arrive with holes. Iraola said he was unsure about Dominik Szoboszlai and Victor Munoz, though he was optimistic about Florian Wirtz. Chelsea's Joao Pedro is out with a thigh injury, and summer signing Emmanuel Emegha, who has yet to make a competitive appearance, has made the trip.

Rotation is where an identity shows up

Any coach can look good with his best XI. The cup shows what is left when the best XI is gone. Iraola's line that "a lot of players are waiting for this competition to have their starts" is a bet that his bench believes in the same pressing, disruptive idea as the starters. If the second string holds that shape, Liverpool have a system. If it collapses, they have a first team.

We think that is a healthy test for a side that Soccertonic's tactical analysis describes as one that thrives on chaos. Chaos is easy to love when Wirtz is fit and the legs are fresh. It is much harder to reproduce with rotated legs and a 35-year-old Virgil van Dijk anchoring a young defense around Jeremy Jacquet. The early signs on Jacquet are encouraging, and Van Dijk says the partnership is "coming along." But a cup night with a reshuffled back line is probably a better stress test than a win over Brighton.

Chelsea's problem is not goals, it's the back line

Chelsea's numbers tell a lopsided story. As reported by AOL, they have scored 25 goals in 10 games but conceded 18, with one clean sheet all season, against League One Luton in this same competition. Liverpool's own record is 28 scored and 16 conceded in 12 games, so neither side is exactly watertight.

Jamie Carragher's critique of Maxence Lacroix, who cost a reported £52million, is pointed: he liked him in a back three at Crystal Palace but doesn't see him "comfortable" when Alonso's system morphs into a back four. Carragher is a Liverpool legend, so discount accordingly. Still, the underlying tension looks real to us. A shape-shifting system asks defenders to be mobile and decisive in more than one structure. Paying £52million for a defender Carragher sees as a back-three player, and then asking him to do something else, is a squad-building question, not just a form dip.

What we'd watch, and what it means

Don't judge this on the scoreline. Penalties are possible, and Iraola said his team always practices them, so a shootout would tell us nothing about identity.

Watch instead for three things:

• Does Liverpool's press survive the changes?
• Does Chelsea's defense stay organized when Alonso switches shape?
• Do the young players, such as Chelsea's 16-year-old Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, get minutes, or does it become a tight survival game?

Our verdict: Iraola has the more coherent project right now, because his squad seems to be built for the idea he is selling. Alonso has the better attack and the bigger unanswered question. If Chelsea cannot find a defender to build around, as Carragher argues, the cup will be the least of their problems. The trophy is worth having. The information is worth more.