A whole host of star names are almost certain to be missing when Manchester City take on Liverpool in the Carabao Cup fourth round, which takes place in the week after the World Cup final.
The rivals were pitted against each other in Thursday night's draw, which was conducted at Old Trafford in the wake of Manchester United's 4-2 win over Aston Villa.
City, who will have home advantage for the clash in the week commencing December 19, beat Chelsea 2-0 in their third round tie after fielding a starting XI which included five players who are going to the World Cup, while a much-changed Liverpool beat League One's Derby County on penalties at Anfield after a goalless draw.
Holders Liverpool were always likely to field a stronger side for their next match in the competition as they look to get players up to speed following the World Cup break, and certainly now they have been drawn to face City, a club they have built up a strong rivalry with in recent years on and off the pitch.
Matches between the pair have become standout moments in recent seasons, with Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp engaging in fascinating tactical battles on the pitch and the atmosphere around the games growing more and more heated off it.
What this Carabao Cup tie will look like is unclear though, although star forwards Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah are likely to feature with neither going to Qatar.
The World Cup final takes place on December 18, and should England find themselves there then seven players from the two clubs will be involved - City's John Stones, Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, and Liverpool's Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Brazil's squad meanwhile features both clubs' No.1 goalkeepers Ederson and Alisson, as well as Liverpool midfielder Fabinho.
Portugal have three City stars in Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva, and while Spain and the Netherlands' squads haven't been confirmed at the time of writing, Rodri, Aymeric Laporte, Virgil van Dijk and Nathan Ake are certain to be involved.
Kevin De Bruyne, Julian Alvarez, Manuel Akanji, Ibrahima Konate and Darwin Nunez are more players either confirmed or likely to be at the World Cup, and while Liverpool certainly come out of the equation better and more likely to be able to field a stronger side, the uncertainty around selections will concern both Guardiola and Klopp.
Not all of the players listed above will reach the World Cup final of course, but the majority will expect to reach the knockout stages which begin on December 3.
The quarter-finals are then on December 9-10, with the semis on December 13-14.
With the Premier League resuming on Boxing Day, clubs are highly unlikely to plunge any of their stars who have got to the final straight back into action, and they will want to give any player who went far in the competition a rest period before they return.
The Carabao Cup meeting will be the third game between City and Liverpool this season, with the Reds winning both in the Community Shield in July and in the Premier League last month.
The last time they met in the League Cup was in the 2016 final, which City won on penalties.
