Liverpool head into Sunday’s Carabao Cup final with Chelsea as favourites.
The 4-1 beating the Reds gave the Blues at the back end of January is still fresh in the mind. And despite the fact that Mauricio Pochettino’s team got a point away at Manchester City on Saturday, they’re in strange form. Top of the league and with just one loss in 14 games, Liverpool feel like the more likely.
However, this is a cup final and things are never straightforward. Moreover, the Reds are currently dealing with a worryingly long injury list.
With as many as nine players out for their trip to Wembley, Liverpool legend Graeme Souness suggested on TalkSPORT that fitness problems are the only reason his old club won’t come out on top this weekend.
“It’s not a done deal, of course they [Chelsea] have a chance,” Souness explained. “For me it’s 60/40 game, I think Liverpool will win. That’s even with the boys who went off injured – that’s my one concern for Liverpool.
“They’ve got an abundance of strikers and they’re the guys that change games even when you’re not playing well and that’s why Liverpool are so dangerous.”
Liverpool injuries causing concern
Of course, injuries aren’t necessarily the only reason Liverpool could lose against Chelsea. Their win against the Blues last month was actually their first in 90 minutes in nine attempts.
Over recent years, the Reds have really struggled to break down their West London counterparts.
That was never more apparent than in the two cup finals the teams played against each other in 2022. Two years ago, they also met in the Carabao Cup final.
Chelsea weren’t the weird shadow of themselves they’ve since become back then. But Liverpool were still the favourites.
The Reds did eventually make good on that tag but had to navigate a 22-man penalty shootout before they did. The same story followed in the FA Cup final three months later.
As a result, nobody connected with Liverpool should be getting ahead of themselves here.
In one way, the ridiculous injury situation they currently find themselves in has actually ensured that that is the case.
With so many first-team players out, it feels like expectations for the Reds have been lowered ever so slightly. If they don’t lift that trophy on Sunday, there’ll be a handy reason why.
If they can banish Souness’ concern and register a 10th League Cup triumph though, it’ll feel all the more sweeter.
