Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Carabao Cup round of 16 game against Liverpool at Anfield (20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Alonso confirmed Joao Pedro will miss Wednesday's game and faces "a few weeks" on the sidelines after missing Saturday's home defeat by Tottenham with a problem picked up in training: "He has an injury on his thigh and he is going to be out for a few weeks. Let's see how many, we don't want to predict on that."

• How will the Blues cope without their top scorer?: "We will miss him but we have to be ready to deal with that and win games and be competitive with the players we have available. This is the situation. We have to be looking for solutions not for excuses. This is why you build a squad. For sure, some players are important but this can happen."

• Alonso confirmed that summer arrival Emmanuel Emegha will be in the squad for the first time: "For sure it's important that we have him available because he has special qualities. He has been training for the last 10 days in a good way that gives him a strong base to build his fitness. Maybe tomorrow he has his chance to play."

• Reflecting on the disappointing defeat by rivals Spurs, Alonso said: "We were not happy for sure with the result and performance. It was a big game and it could have been better. Now we have moved on and the focus is just on Liverpool."

• On Cole Palmer, who was sent off for the first time in his career: "We spoke and for sure he knows the mistake he made. There are things you can avoid. I hope this is not going to be repeated. He is aware of that. He's in a good space. He is mature and he made a mistake."

• Asked why Estevao and Danny Welbeck did not start and were not introduced until deep into the second half on Saturday, Alonso said: "I assessed all the possibilities we have, what we have prepared during the week, and the qualities the players have for each game. That was the case on Saturday and that will be the case tomorrow."

• On 21-year-old goalkeeper Mike Penders, who scored an own goal against Spurs on his first Premier League start: "It's a challenge to deal with good performances and with mistakes. That is part of the job. What happened on Saturday, it is the past and a lesson for him and everyone. We fully support him for tomorrow."