Sunday sees two of the Premier League’s strongest teams go head-to-head at Wembley, as Chelsea assume Liverpool for Carabao Cup (streaming ON ESPN+, February 27, 11:30 a.m. ET).
The two sides have had some memorable battles over the years – the 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge in the 2008-09 Champions League quarter-finals, anyone? – but have been very even in games this season, with a 1-1 draw at Anfield in August, followed by an enthralling 2-2 draw in London in January.
So how will Sunday’s final go? Who needs a trophy more at this point? Which players need to step up or be assertive? And how will the two managers fit together? Mark Ogden and James Olley get you ready for the big game.
Move in: Who needs to win more? | Tuchel and Klopp | Main player | Interesting facts / something to see | Guess
Who needs this more?
Ogden: In many ways, the Carabao Cup is a trophy no team needs to win.
Both Liverpool and Chelsea have bigger priorities – the Premier League and the Champions League, to begin with – and they have both won two major awards in recent seasons. The pressure is on for both teams on Sunday and Chelsea have won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup this season, but if one team needed it more, it was Liverpool, simply because Jurgen Klopp’s team was given the chance. is to have not won their silver trophy count. well-deserved performances over the past three or four seasons.
By winning the Carabao Cup, the Red Devils will partially solve that imbalance, and at the same time raise their hopes for an unprecedented treble this season. Victory at Wembley could be Liverpool’s launch pad for a remarkable end to the campaign. In the opposite direction, success for Chelsea will extend coach Thomas Tuchel’s title streak to four since taking charge in January 2021 – a clear motivation for the German strategist.
Olley: There is a case that this is more important for Chelsea, specifically Tuchel, because of the broader picture. Chelsea won’t be able to win the Premier League and their lethargic form now threatens to see them fall to ruin as they break into the top four. Tuchel is not yet near the stage where he needs to fear for the job. But that time often comes quickly for the Chelsea managers and another title would give him more credit in the bank to make up for the disappointment of not being able to land a long title challenge. long .
Mark is right that Liverpool need to show more of their great football in recent years, but the Premier League is suddenly within their grasp once again and they are the first English side. won all six Champions League group stage games earlier in the season. They have the two biggest prizes in their sights and thus the Carabao Cup is just a footnote to their season at this point.
Sunday also won’t define Chelsea’s campaign, but Tuchel is under immediate pressure to prove he is continuing to take Chelsea forward. Success in the first domestic cup will be tangible proof of that.
Tuchel vs. Klopp: Who has the advantage?
Ogden: Klopp has a better team and better individual players than Chelsea, so Tuchel cut his job on coming up with a tactical plan to beat Liverpool. Liverpool are arguably the best team in Europe at the moment and a 6-0 win over Leeds in midweek underlined their incredible attacking threat.
If Liverpool play their best, they will win on Sunday. Sorry Chelsea, but things are working well for Liverpool at the moment and Tuchel’s players will have to try to compress Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane prepay, keep Fabinho in the middle of the pitch, trying to get past the centre-back Virgil van Dijk and neutralize the threat of full-backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Chelsea have struggled to impress in recent matches, although they are still able to win. Against Liverpool, they cannot expect luck again unless Tuchel finds a way to repeat the last game that saw the two teams draw 2-2 at Stamford Bridge in January. However, Liverpool have won 10/11 games since then, and they have taken it to another level.
Olley: The meeting between these two last month was overshadowed by Romelu LukakuThe omission follows an ineffectual interview in which he talks about a day’s return to Inter Milan. And here we are: Lukaku was disqualified for Tuesday’s win Lillewith Tuchel suggesting his €115m striker was tired, a claim that has been quietly denied by the player’s camp.
Last month, Tuchel started the match against Liverpool with Kai Havertz Prepaid is supported by Mason Mountain and Christian Pulisic. The idea was to get the ball up high and break quickly in the transition, something that was reimagined to some extent in the game against Lille, and so all eyes would be on the team. by Tuchel. He chose 4-1-4-1 against Crystal Palace and Lille, but a 3-4-2-1 return must be appealing to Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso again suitable to play as a full-back.
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Shaka Hislop feels Chelsea can play more in the style of Romelu Lukaku but still feels the striker should give more to the Blues.
Key players of both teams
Ogden: Liverpool are blessed with a number of key players (Salah, Van Dijk, Alisson Becker, Alexander-Arnold), but none have been as brilliant as Fabinho in recent weeks and the Brazilian midfielder will be a key figure in the game. match against Chelsea. If Tuchel chooses Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante In midfield it will be an attempt to reduce Fabinho’s influence on the game, but his performances this season suggest that Kante and Kovacic will have to focus solely on keeping Fabinho out of the game. fight. If Tuchel used Jorginhothen Fabinho will have more freedom to dominate the central third of the pitch.
Whoever wins the midfield battle will have the best chance of winning, but if Chelsea are to succeed, they need Havertz launch a big occasion again or hope that Lukaku (if selected) can be found. scoring line. The Belgian doesn’t do it often enough against top clubs, but Sunday would be a good time to start.
Olley: Lukaku has been signed to win games like this, but focus on Christian Pulisic instead. The US International told ESPN in a recent interview that he was struggling to get his rhythm back due to a lack of game time, but this week he started back-to-back games for the third time this season. With Hakim Ziyech and cast doubt on fitness – although the latter was fit for the bench against Lille – Pulisic has the ability to start again as he hopes for a lucky third at Wembley .
Pulisic scores and gets injured as Chelsea lose the FA Cup final 2020 first Arsenal. He played just 22 minutes as a substitute as Leicester beat them in the 2021 final. Perhaps this is Pulisic’s chance to go down in history. If he scores on Sunday, he will become the sixth Chelsea player to score in both games Englanddomestic cup finals.
Interesting facts / something to see
Ogden: If Liverpool win, it will be the club’s 66th trophy, taking them to the next level Manchester United to become the most successful club in English football. That number includes everything from the Club World Cup to the Community Shield, with more than a handful of league and Champions League titles also included in the mix.
To compare the titles of Liverpool and United, Arsenal are third on the list with 48, while Chelsea are fourth with 34. City of ManchesterRecent dominance has yielded numerous titles since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan bought the club in 2008, but they have still won just 28 titles in their history. So if Liverpool win the Carabao Cup / EFL Cup for the ninth time, they will automatically claim the top spot for themselves if they win at least one of the Premier League, Champions League or FA Cup titles this season.
Olley: Chelsea are the first team of English football to participate in the domestic final in six consecutive seasons: (FA Cup: 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021; League Cup: 2019 and 2022). They also reached the final when keeping 3 clean sheets in a row. Only one team (Swansea City in 2013) has ever won the tournament without conceding a goal from the quarter-finals onwards.
It partly reflects the improvement in Kepa Arrizabalaga – the most expensive goalkeeper in the world with nearly 80 million euros, but is Chelsea’s second choice after Edouard Mendy, who has barely put on gloves in the past year. Kepa was knocked out of the Club World Cup final in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, but he has started every Carabao Cup game this season. If he gets the nod again, as expected, it will stir the memory of his antics in the 2019 finale. when he refused to be replaced as the game against Manchester City approached penalties, prompting a stunned reaction from then-Blues manager Maurizio Sarri.
Guess
Ogden: Liverpool 3-1 Chelsea. Liverpool are flying at the moment and they can feel the opportunity to make history this season. Chelsea haven’t played well enough to show they can beat Klopp’s side.
Olley: Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea. Chelsea have the ability to rise at any time – last year’s Champions League final was proof of that – but Liverpool are in impeccable form and have a worthy start as favorites. prefer.
