Liverpool lock horns with Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday afternoon—the first piece of silverware up for grabs in the English domestic season.
The quadruple-chasing Reds defeated Leicester City, AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United and Fulham to reach the Carabao Cup final, most recently edging out the Cottagers 3-2 on aggregate in the semi-finals. They moved four points clear at the summit of the Premier League with a 4-1 win over Luton Town at Anfield on Wednesday evening.
Despite having a big injury list heading into what should be a stunning occasion at Wembley Stadium, Jurgen Klopp’s side will be favourites on paper against an inconsistent Chelsea side lying 10th in the table.
Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah are facing a race against time to prove their fitness ahead of the showpiece event against Chelsea. Nunez was absent against Luton having picked up an issue in the win over Brentford last weekend, along with Salah, who suffered from muscle fatigue having only recently returned from a hamstring complaint.
Dominik Szoboszlai has an outside chance of facing Chelsea while recovering from a hamstring problem, but Diogo Jota (knee), Curtis Jones (ankle), Alisson Becker (thigh), Trent Alexander-Arnold (hamstring), Stefan Bajcetic (calf) and Thiago Alcantara (hamstring) have all been ruled out of the cup final.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup vs Chelsea (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Caoimhin Kelleher must retain his spot in goal after Alisson Becker has been ruled out for weeks with a thigh problem. He will be hoping to emulate the heroics that helped Liverpool beat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final in 2022.
Defence
Conor Bradley is primed to continue at right-back amid Trent Alexander-Arnold’s absence. Andy Robertson should replace Joe Gomez at left-back from the Luton game, after the Scot was rested in midweek. Ibrahima Konate, too, enjoyed a breather but he will be back partnering Virgil van Dijk in central defence.
Given how Chelsea carved Man City out many times last weekend, the Liverpool back four have to stay focused and not commit silly errors in dangerous areas of the pitch.
Midfield
As Curtis Jones has been ruled out and Dominik Szoboszlai looks touch-and-go, Jurgen Klopp is certain to stick with the midfield trio of Wataru Endo, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister.
Endo will take charge of breaking up Chelsea’s attacks and providing a base for Gravenberch and Mac Allister to thrive as No.8s. The onus will be on Mac Allister and Gravenberch to dictate the pace of the game and dominate Mauricio Pochettino’s midfield unit.
Attack
Harvey Elliott and Cody Gakpo scored in the 4-1 midweek win over Luton and they will be the prime candidates to start in attack, even if Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez are successful in proving their fitness. Luis Diaz, who also scored against Luton, has locked down a spot on the left flank.
If deemed fit, Salah, Nunez and Szoboszlai could be brought off the bench to help the Reds beat Chelsea.
