Liverpool 0-1 Stoke (Liverpool win 6-5 on penalties): Capital One Cup semi-final - as it happened

Well what an evening. Simon Mignolet is the hero for Liverpool, who despite losing to Stoke on the night prevail on penalties. We're back with the second semi-final between City and Everton tomorrow night but until then goodbye.

Simon Mignolet is the hero for Liverpool. Two saves in the shoot out from Ibrahim Afellay and Mark Muniesa, allowing Joe Allen to score the winner. Liverpool are the first team to take their place in the League Cup final and they will be joined by Manchester City or Everton after tomorrow night's other semi-final.

Liverpool 6-5 Stoke (Joe Allen) - Liverpool reach the Capital One Cup Final

Liverpool 5-5 Stoke (Mark Muniesa misses)

Liverpool 5-5 Stoke (Lucas Leiva)

Liverpool 4-5 Stoke (Marko van Ginkel)

Into sudden death now after five penalties each.

Liverpool 4-4 Stoke (James Milner)

Liverpool 3-4 Stoke (Xherdan Shaqiri)

Liverpool 3-3 Stoke (Roberto Firmino)

Liverpool 2-3 Stoke (Ibrahim Afellay)

Liverpool 2-2 Stoke (Christian Benteke)

Liverpool 1-2 Stoke (Glenn Whelan)

Liverpool 1-1 Stoke (Emre Can misses)

Liverpool 1-1 Stoke (Peter Crouch misses)

Liverpool 1-1 Stoke (Adam Lallana)

Liverpool 0-1 Stoke (Jonathan Walters)

Ok here we go. Stoke to go first...

Liverpool beat Carlisle United to progress in the third round, while Stoke overcame Luton and Chelsea to make it this far. How influential might that be tonight?

Penalties it is to determine whether Liverpool or Stoke will become the first side into this season's League Cup final. Toss a coin time.

Full time in extra time: Liverpool (1) 0-1 (1) Stoke City

Which comes to nothing. Moreno hits a volley from Milner's cross but Stoke clear.

Corner for Liverpool with 90 seconds remaining.

Two minutes left. Will we have a winner? (probably not)

Jordon Ibe comes inside, sets himself up for a left foot shot, sees headlines and booms the ball over. Poor effort.

Great chance for Stoke but Crouch is hounded out by the Liverpool defence after Pieters sprung clear. Now Van Ginkel arrives late again but is denied by Mignolet. Stoke have been far the better side tonight, without doubt.

Just one shot on target from both sides and that has told the story of this game, which is closing in on 120 minutes. Second period of extra time has begun like the first, with minimal adventure from either side. Will we get an opening?

Back under way in extra time. Last chance for either of these sides to reach Wembley in regulation play.

Jordon Ibe on for Jon Flanagan for the final 15 minutes of this game. Can the difference in the first leg, be the difference in the second leg? Jurgen Klopp will certainly be hoping so.

Half time in extra time and it remains Liverpool 0-1 Stoke. Penalties loom.

Great chance for Stoke and they should be ahead in the tie. Crouch makes a positive contribution with a fine flick on into the path of Van Ginkel who takes the ball down but off-balance can only hit Mignolet's post. Big opportunity at this stage of the game.

Extra time is often undermined with defensive football, with neither team willing to go forward and that is how this opening half has been played out. Both sides waiting for penalties it seems.

Charlie Adam off not long after coming for Stoke and it is Marko van Ginkel who replaces him. Around nine minutes into the first period of extra time.

Chance for Stoke at the other end as they force a corner but Crouch cannot direct his header back the way it came and it goes wide.

Firmino with the first effort on goal and it is saved by Butland, who has had very little to do in this game. Remember for this game to go the distance, it must stay like this. A goal for either team would rule out spot kicks.

Extra time under way at Anfield. Both these teams have needed penalties to get this far, will we get them again? Thirty minutes until we find out.

Full time: Liverpool (1) 0-1 (1) Stoke City

Stoke complete their first win in 90 minutes at Anfield since 1959 and keeps alive their hopes of reaching the League Cup final. Liverpool have been poor tonight but they have a second chance to book their place at Wembley. Extra time on the way...

Peter Crouch heads onto the roof of the net. A foul was awarded anyway. That might be that.

Liverpool corner which comes to nothing and Stoke break in the form of Afellay and it takes a bad foul from Joe Allen to save the home side. Free-kick for Stoke which is fired into Walters but he re-cycles it and wins a corner...

Four added minutes at Anfield. Can either side get a goal to take them to Wembley?

Yellow card for Jon Flanagan for a late foul on Afellay, during a Stoke break which saw Shaqiri's cross gathered by Mignolet. Two minutes of normal time left.

Joe Allen for Kolo Toure with five minutes left. Lucas Leiva to go into the back four. Appeals for handball from the restart for a Stoke hand in the area but it looked very hopeful.

Roberto Firmino takes aim from range but he blasts the ball over. Not his best showing in a Liverpool shirt tonight, particularly given what has gone before. Edge taken off this game now, perhaps with both sides eyeing the extra 30 minutes.

The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed with the tie at 1-1 we are heading for the dreaded extra time, unless we get a winner to take either Liverpool or Stoke to Wembley. We can only hope.

Half chance for Liverpool as we enter the final 15 minutes. Moreno crosses for Benteke, who is levered off the ball by Pieters but Flanagan comes in on the ball but is escapes his control and Stoke smuggle the ball away.

Liverpool have given away countless free-kicks in and around their penalty area, give Stoke every opportunity to test their hosts' brittle defence. Flanagan fouls Arnautovic for this latest opportunity but Jon Moss spots a foul before the ball barely reached the penalty area.

Another former Liverpool player in the form of Charlie Adam coming on for Stoke, with Bojan coming off. That is three in the Potters' ranks, alongside Peter Crouch and Glen Johnson.

Mamadou Sakho has saved Liverpool twice in this second half with defensive blocks, and he almost produces similar heroics in the attacking third but he heads Milner's free-kick wide at the back post. Better chance than it originally looked for the Frenchman.

Better from Liverpool. They win a corner as Flanagan and Milner combine down the right. Crouch heads away the first ball before Butland comes to claim a loose ball from the second.

Erik Pieters over the latest opportunity for Stoke to cause more panic in the Liverpool box. His ball is cleared but Stoke work it well and Bojan helps find Walters and Sakho is there again with a fine block. It is all Stoke at the moment.

Stoke causing all sorts of problems in the Liverpool area now. Crouch wins a header from a free-kick and as Sakho allows the ball to bounce twice, Walters almost turns and gets a shot away. Another sign of that fallibility at the back. Change for Liverpool now, as Christian Benteke replace captain Jordan Henderson with just over half an hour of normal time to play.

Liverpool vastly improved from the first half but they are almost carved open again by Stoke. Arnautovic plays a fabulous pass to put Walters clear and though Mignolet clears the danger the ball fall to Bojan. The Spaniard finds Walters whose goalbound effort is blocked heroically by Sakho, with Mignolet still finding his bearings.

Liverpool have Stoke penned in at the start of the half and they almost level. Can finds Firmino from a corner and the Brazilian strikes the foot of the post.

Let's not forget Stoke have already had their fair share of luck in their run to the semi-final of this competition, having already prevailed in two penalty shoot-outs against Luton and Chelsea on their way to the last four. Are they set to benefit from more tonight?

Players out for the second half. No changes as the fourth quarter of this game gets under way.

Half time: Liverpool (1) 0-1 (1) Stoke City

The final act of the first half sets up a the second half very nicely. There is little debate that Stoke have been the better side, or that their opening goal was anything other than offside as Bojan found Arnautovic. Not exactly brilliant officiating but it does give us something to talk about eh? Doubt Liverpool fans will feel that way if they end up going out.

Goal: Liverpool (1) 0-1 (1) Stoke (Marko Arnautovic)

A dreary first half illuminated by an controversial goal which levels this semi-final. For all the talk about crosses and Peter Crouch but it comes from a flowing Stoke move that they level as Arnautovic slides home from what looks like an offside position to put Stoke ahead on the night and at half time.

Jordan Henderson, fresh from his goal at Norwich, strikes wide from 20 yards with a half volley. Hasn't been much better than that for the Reds.

This really is not a classic cup tie. Both sides surrendering possession far too easily. Four minutes until half time. Only.

Another half chance for Liverpool. Bojan flicks on a Pieters free-kick and it runs across the face of goal and Crouch is on his heels and can't quite convert. Remember, Stoke have to score tonight or they are out.

Liverpool takes 33 minutes to take aim at the Stoke goal. Emre Can strikes from 25 yards and with Jack Butland stretching, the ball goes wide. About time. Now Afellay fires over and a nice exchange between Arnautovic and Crouch.

Half an hour in and it would be fair to say it has not been a cup classic. Stoke have had the better of the chances but have lacked control or sustained periods of possession, while Liverpool for all their pressing have produced nothing in the final third.

Another chance for Stoke and Jonathan Walters is the danger man again. The Potters striker is played in and just as he gets his shot in he is taken out by Mamadou Sakho and his shot skews wide. Big chance and the reaction of Mark Hughes tells you all you need to know.

Another chance for Stoke to load the Liverpool box as they win a free-kick in the left hand channel, around 35 yards from goal. Marko Arnautovic takes responsibility but it is woefully miss-hit and it sails out of play.

Lots made of set pieces and the like in this game and the first one goes the way of Liverpool, but Stoke clear the danger. First chance of the game now for the Potters and Afellay feeds Walters, whose effort is deflected over by Moreno's challenge.

For those wanting an early night....

Under way in the second leg at Anfield. Liverpool remember, lead by a goal to nil from the first game.

Both teams out at Anfield as the pre-match pleasantries begin. 'You'll Never Walk Alone' ringing around the ground.

Something a little curious about the inclusion of Peter Crouch tonight, the former Liverpool striker. It is likely Crouch has been selected more to cause panic in the Reds back four rather than to directly influence play, given he isn't actually the best header of the ball.

Two Liverpool managers in Roy Hodgson and Brendan Rodgers have come and gone from Anfield without a major trophy, so how important is it for Jurgen Klopp to grab some silverware in his first season? The German has an impeccable cup record and just one game from Wembley Klopp will surely be sensing opening his account as soon as possible. Either way, you can guarantee the supporters are eager for some silverware.

Mark Hughes on Sky Sports: "We need that outlet that Peter gives us and he has got plenty of experience. You have to look at the opposition's strengths and weaknesses and sometimes you get it right and sometimes not. We need to win the game and that is why I have with the players I have done."

Jurgen Klopp on Sky Sports: "It seems to be an easy way to play against us; bring your tallest player. Playing against these kind of players it is not just Crouch it is Walters as well. We know what they want to do and we must fight for second balls. it is clear they change their plan a little bit and it might be a heading festival. we have to cope with it and bring through our game."

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out how Stoke might approach tonight's second leg. Their passing game failed to inspire in the first leg, so with Peter Crouch in attack you get the feeling they will go long and direct in an attempt to expose a Liverpool defence which has conceded more goals from crosses than any other in the top flight.

What a night for Jon Flanagan at Anfield, with the England international due to make his first start for hie boyhood club since May 2014, 20 months ago. Flanagan came on against Exeter City last week but tonight marks his full return to the team.

Two changes for Liverpool for this second leg. Jon Flanagan comes in for his first start since May 2014 in place of Nathaniel Clyne while Adam Lallana - matchwinner against Norwich - comes in for Jordon Ibe.

Stoke make four alterations as they seek a win at Anfield to take them to Wembley again. Peter Crouch, Marc Muniesa, Bojan and Marko Arnautovic all come into an attacking-minded team named by Mark Hughes, from the 3-0 loss to Leicester.

Teams:

Liverpool: Mignolet, Flanagan, Toure, Sakho, Moreno, Lucas, Can, Henderson, Milner, Lallana, Firmino.

Stoke: Butland; Johnson, Wollscheid, Muniesa, Pieters; Whelan, Afellay; Walters, Bojan, Arnautovic; Crouch.

The teams should be with us in the net few minutes but how do we expect both sides to line up?

Well Liverpool do have Dejan Lovren available again after a hamstring problem, but Nathaniel Clyne is missing with a knee problem. Jon Flanagan could make his first start since May 2014 in his place.

Ryan Shawcross is out for four weeks with a back problem while Geoff Cameron is also missing. Bojan and Marko Arnautovic are back however.

We may only be in January but already we are entering award season. Tonight, either Liverpool or Stoke will become the first team to take their place in a domestic cup final this term as the Capital One Cup reaches the sharp end. The Reds hold a marginal advantage after the first leg at the Britannia Stadium, through Jordon Ibe's only goal but Stoke 's improvement this term under Mark Hughes makes them a dangerous proposition. The Potters scored four on their last visit to Merseyside as they defeated Liverpool's neighbours Everton and tonight we could see similar fireworks. Jurgen Klopp's side were of course were involved in that nine-goal thriller with Norwich over the weekend. Team news on the way from Anfield.