Chelsea vs Liverpool – Carabao Cup final: Pochettino and Klopp go head-to-head for first silverware of season at Wembley

PREMIER LEAGUE giants Chelsea and Liverpool return to Wembley this weekend in search of silverware.

The two sides go head-to-head in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday in front of a capacity crowd.

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Liverpool beat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final two years ago[/caption]

They last met in the final just two years ago when Jurgen Klopp’s side came out on top, winning 11-10 in a thrilling penalty shootout following a goalless draw.

The Reds will likely be favourites going into the game given their impressive run of form.

Liverpool currently sit at the top of the Premier League table, with Chelsea struggling down in 10th.

But, of course, anything can happen in the Cup!

When is Chelsea vs Liverpool?

• Chelsea’s clash with Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final will take place on Sunday, February 25.
• The game will be held at Wembley Stadium.
• An earlier kick-off time than usual of 3pm has been selected for the final.

What channel is the Carabao Cup final, can it be live streamed?

• Chelsea vs Liverpool will be shown on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event.
• You can live stream the action from the Sky Go or NOW TV apps, both of which are available for download onto your mobile or tablet device.

Odds

• Chelsea – 9/4
• Draw – 5/2
• Liverpool – 11/10
• Chelsea to lift trophy – 5/4
• Liverpool to lift trophy – 4/7

*Odds courtesy of Ladbrokes and correct at time of publication.

Team news

Both teams have several injury concerns going into the game.

Defenders Reece James, Benoit Badiashile and Marc Cucurella are all unavailable with long-term injuries.

Mauricio Pochettino also revealed that Thiago Silva picked up a “minor injury” before last week’s 1-1 draw against Manchester City.

Romeo Lavia, Wesley Fofana and Carney Chukwuemeka also remain sidelined.

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Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to miss the final due to injury[/caption]

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Diogo Jota was stretchered off against Brentford last week[/caption]

Meanwhile, Darwin Nunez, Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota recently suffered injury setbacks.

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been confirmed as an absentee for the final because of a knee injury.

Alisson and Dominik Szoboszlai could also miss out due to a hamstring issues.

Who will be the star players?

Conor Gallagher has arguably been one of Chelsea’s most consistent players this season.

A boyhood Blue, the midfielder has captained his side on several occasions since the start of the campaign in the absence of James and Ben Chilwell.

He has also popped up in some key moments for Pochettino’s side.

Gallagher scored two crucial goals for Chelsea against Crystal Palace earlier this month to seal a crucial win.

Conor Gallagher has been one of Chelsea’s most consistent players this season

Mohamed Salah has a fantastic goalscoring record for Liverpool this season

As for Liverpool, Mohamed Salah will be one to watch.

The winger recently returned from injury and was back firing against Brentford last week.

Salah has now scored 19 goals and provided 10 assists in 28 appearances across all competitions.

What has been said?

Following Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City last week, Pochettino said: “For us, it was a really important game to keep the momentum, to realise we are in a good way and improving.

“Still we are not at the level of Manchester City but that is our aim and of course, we are a very young team that needs this type of game to improve and to create a spirit that we need to show in every single game.

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Mauricio Pochettino was pleased with his team’s performance against Man City[/caption]

“You want to be competitive because I think from the beginning, we were one of the best teams in the way we perform, create chances and I think after 15 games, we deserved to be in the top four.

“But football is not only to show good quality and be nice, it’s to be competitive and today the team has definitely showed we can be competitive also and play well.”

Meanwhile, following Liverpool’s win over Luton on Wednesday, Klopp said: “This team that time ignored the fact who was missing.

“I want us to ignore the fact who is missing. That is difficult because the public got the knowledge of the whole amount of players missing only tonight – I needed a few minutes to process it!

“From the moment when you know how you can sort it and deal with it for this game now, that feels really good, so that is what I wanted the boys to show.”