Livermore has Wembley in his sights

Cardiff City 0 Hull City 4

The Tigers looked to be heading out when they visited the Amex Stadium last week, but Ivorian striker Yannick Sagbo forced the return fixture when he made it 1-1 in the closing minutes. The timing of the match has brought plenty of puzzled looks, with both sides asked to play again little more than 48 hours after their last league encounters.

Any weariness in the Hull ranks will have been mitigated by the importance of their big win at Cardiff, and now all eyes are on the cup and a potential Wembley visit.

The winners will meet Sunderland on home turf in the last eight and Livermore sees that as a prize well worth fighting for.

“Every game is massive but we’ve been dangled a great carrot with another home tie after this one,” Livermore said.

Livermore, on a season-long loan from Tottenham, has been a key figure for Hull in their first term back in the top flight. He was among a number of first-choice players rested in the early rounds of both knockout competitions but his impressive fitness levels mean he could be one of those asked to play for the second time in three days.

Changes can be expected elsewhere, though, with manager Steve Bruce wary of incurring further injuries to a thin squad that may already be missing Paul McShane and Robbie Brady for the rest of the campaign. Central defender Alex Bruce and Livermore’s one-time Tottenham team-mate Tom Huddlestone both suffered knocks at Cardiff and are at the head of the queue for a break.

Abdoulaye Faye is next in line at the back, while Stephen Quinn, Robert Koren and George Boyd are all hoping for recalls in the middle.

Bruce’s arm has been twisted in attack, with on-form strike pairing Nikica Jelavic and Shane Long cup-tied with Everton and West Brom respectively.

“It’ll be a case of those who are fit are in,” said Bruce.

CARDIFF: Marshall, Da Silva,Caulker, Cala, Taylor (John 75), Noone, Eikrem, Cowie, Zaha (Daehli 46), Campbell (Berget 79), Jones.

HULL: McGregor, Elmohamady, Davies, Bruce (Chester 71), Figueroa, Rosenior, Livermore, Huddlestone (Boyd 63), Meyler, Jelavic, Long (Quinn 76).

Referee: H Webb (S Yorkshire).