Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool meet Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea in Sunday’s showdown at Wembley with the Reds battling a number of injuries while the Blues look to salvage their season
I fancy Chelsea to with the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool – which sounds crazy just three weeks after they were destroyed at Anfield.
If both sides were at full strength, I would back Jurgen Klopp to collect the first trophy of his farewell tour. But Liverpool will definitely be without Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alisson and Curtis Jones at Wembley, while Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez missed the midweek win over Luton.
With Chelsea running into their best patch of form under Mauricio Pochettino, it’s the worst possible time for Klopp to go into a cup final with a weakened hand. Before that 4-1 pasting at Anfield on January 31, all seven of Chelsea’s previous meetings with Liverpool had ended in draws (excluding penalty shoot-outs), and I expect this final to be another close-run thing.
But my hunch is that Klopp’s pursuit of four trophies this season will fall at the first hurdle. Defeat won’t be the end of the world, though. With respect, if you offered every fan on the Kop a chance to win just one trophy for Klopp’s parting gift, it wouldn’t be the Carabao Cup.
The Premier League crown is the big one – and the title race is still in Liverpool’s hands.
