Chelsea vs Liverpool – Predicted XI for the Carabao Cup final
Chelsea and Liverpool clash in the Carabao Cup final tonight at Wembley. The two sides have met twice this season in the league and shared points on both occasions.
The Blues have a big decision to make as Kepa Arrizabalaga has been their cup keeper, but Tuchel might turn towards Edouard Mendy once again with a trophy on offer.
The Reds are also in a similar situation, with Caoimhin Kelleher touted to start ahead of Alisson in goal.
The Road to Wembley ends here.
It's #CarabaoCupFinal day! 🏆
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Here are the possible starting XIs for the two sides:
Chelsea XI: Edouard Mendy, Trevoh Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rüdiger, César Azpilicueta, N'Golo Kanté, Jorginho, Marcos Alonso, Mason Mount, Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz
Liverpool XI: Caoimhin Kelleher, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joël Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson, Thiago Alcântara, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané, Luis Díaz
Team news ahead of Chelsea vs Liverpool
Thomas Tuchel reported a fully fit side with only Ben Chilwell, who has been ruled out for the season, missing from the squad.
Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech, who came off during the win over Lille, are fit again and will be in the squad. Reece James has also returned from injury and has been a part of two training sessions post his return. Tuchel will take a call on whether or not to play him at Wembley. Tuchel said:
"We had training today with everyone on the pitch except for Ben Chilwell, which is brilliant news. This is pretty much it. Both [Kovacic and Ziyech] ok since today. Everybody joined team training from the first to the last minute. No reactions but positive reactions. I hope it stays like this. We have another training session tomorrow and then we have Sunday."
Unfortunately for Chelsea, it has been reported that Andreas Christensen has been ruled out of the final today. As per Football London, the Danish star has picked up a minor injury and will be sitting out tonight.
Anyway, it looks like Andreas Christensen is out of the #CarabaoCupFinal. Another possible motivation for Tuchel to consider throwing Reece James straight into the mix.
As for Liverpool, Roberto Firmino will not be in the squad while Diogo Jota is in a touch-and-go situation. The Portuguese was carrying an ankle injury and missed the last Premier League game against Leeds United.
Pep Lijnders, the Reds' assistant manager, said:
"Bobby, we have to see in the next two days. He will not be available. We hope he will be back soon. Jota... so far no reaction on the things he did. That's a good sign. He isn't ruled out, but it will still be a challenge."
After picking up the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup trophies, Chelsea are looking to get hold of their third trophy this season. Liverpool are aiming to win their first domestic cup competition under Jurgen Klopp, which will also be a record ninth EFL Cup win.