- Date: Sunday February 25, 16:00
- Venue: Wembley Stadium, London
- Teams: Chelsea vs Liverpool
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Repeat of 2022 final as Chelsea take on Liverpool
Chelsea and Liverpool meet at Wembley once again in the EFL Cup final. Liverpool triumphed 11-10 on penalties after a goalless draw and then went on to beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final, once again on penalties.
Chelsea
Chelsea have again struggled for consistency in the Premier League and with no European football this season, the EFL Cup represents a chance to get some silverwear, qualify for Europe and give themselves a platform from which to improve. Chelsea have a talented and expensive squad and the club will be aiming to get higher up the league and to get back to challenging for the Champions League spots. Their last three matches have, however, been positive, with a win away at Aston Villa in an FA Cup replay, a 3-1 away success against Crystal Palace in the Premuer League and a creditable draw at Manchester City, where Mauricio Pochettino’s came close to pulling off a win.
There could be few changes from that starting XI at Wembley. Thiago Silva is hoping to return after a groin problem. Levi Colwill will partner Axel Disasi in the heart of the defence if the Brazilian is unavailable.
Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Benoit Badiashile, Romeo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukwu and Marc Cucurella are all unavialable.
The Pensioners could line up as follows:
4 2 3 1: Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Colwill, Chilwell; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling; Jackson.
Liverpool
Liverpool are firmly in the title race and after a disappointing season by their own standards in 2022/23, are producing good quality football and have shown that they can grind out results. They are looking to win the EFL Cup for a record extending 10th time. A loss away at Arsenal in the league is the only negative result for Jurgen Klopp’s side in 2024 and, despite a number of injuries, they have looked in commanding form.
Forwards Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez both missed Wednesday evening’s 4-1 win over Luton Town. Klopp hopes to have both avaialble for Wembley. Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai, Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic, Joel Matip and Ben Doak are all out of action.
Prediction
Chelsea have a talented squad who are capable of beating anyone on their day. However, Liverpool have a lot of quality too, and they have shown far greater consitency and resiliance this season. I predict a LIverpool win. Probably in 90 minutes.
EFL Cup Final
First held in 1960–61 as the Football League Cup, the EFL Cup is one of the three top-level domestic football competitions in England alongside the Premier League and FA Cup.
For the first six seasons of the competition, the final was played over two legs, with each leg being played at the home ground of each finalist. Since 1967, the final has been played as a single match at Wembley Stadium, although the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was used between 2001 and 2007, following the demolition of the old Wembley. Between 1967 and 1997, finals that finished level after extra time were replayed at an alternative venue until a winner was decided. Since 1998, finals that have finished level after extra time have been decided by penalty shoot-out.
Wembley Stadium
Wembley opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished between 2002 to 2003. The stadium hosts major football matches including home matches of the England national football team, and the FA Cup Final. Wembley Stadium is owned by the governing body of English football, the Football Association, whose headquarters are in the stadium. With 90,000 seats, it is the largest stadium in the UK and the second-largest stadium in Europe.[10]
In addition to England home games and the FA Cup final, the stadium also hosts other major games in English football, including the traditional season-opener, the FA Community Shield, the League Cup final, the FA Cup semi-finals, the Football League Trophy, the Football League play-offs, the FA Trophy, the FA Vase and the National League play-offs.
Wembley is a UEFA category four stadium and hosted the 2011 and 2013 UEFA Champions League Finals, eight games at UEFA Euro 2020 (including the final and both of the semi-finals) and hosted the final of the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022. It is due to host the 2024 UEFA Champions League Final. The stadium hosted the Gold medal matches at the 2012 Olympic Games football tournament. The stadium also hosts rugby league’s Challenge Cup final and music concerts. The stadium also hosted NFL London Games until 2019 and was also the temporary home of Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur between August 2017 and March 2019, while White Hart Lane was being demolished and their new stadium was built.
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