Chelsea meet Liverpool in a blockbuster Grand Final of the 2021-22 Carabao Cup at Wembley Stadium.
Victory would see Chelsea clinch their sixth crown in this competition and second trophy under Thomas Tuchel’s reign.
Liverpool meanwhile know that a win would see them again become the outright most successful club in the competition’s history with a ninth title, having seen their record eight honours equalled by Manchester City last season.
Team News
Reece James could return for Chelsea after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech will both be available after recovering from knocks to their back and Achilles respectively, which were suffered during Tuesday’s Champions League win over Lille.
Callum Hudson-Odoi (Achilles) is also in contention but Ben Chilwell (knee) remains absent.
Liverpool will hand Diogo Jota a late fitness test as he nears a return from an ankle injury, although he is likely to start from the bench rather than in the starting line-up.
Roberto Firmino (muscle) remains ruled out.
Route to Final
Chelsea
| Round | Opposition | Venue | Result |
| 3 | Aston Villa | Home | 1-1 (4-3 on penalties) |
| 4 | Southampton | Home | 1-1 (4-3 on penalties) |
| Quarter-Finals | Brentford | Away | 0-2 |
| Semi Final – 1st Leg | Tottenham | Home | 2-0 |
| Semi-Finals – 2nd Leg | Tottenham | Away | 0-1 |
Chelsea began their adventure in this season’s competition at the Third Round stage due to having qualified for European football at end of last season.
Thomas Tuchel’s Blues however stuttered their way to victories over Aston Villa and Southampton in Third and Fourth Rounds respectively, prevailing twice 4-3 on penalties after drawing 1-1 in the regulatory normal time – having initially scored first in both matches.
Pontus Jansson’s late own goal and Jorginho’s penalty then saw Chelsea knock out their West London rivals, Brentford in the Quarter-Finals.
Tuchel’s Blues then comfortably dispatched Tottenham 2-0 in the first leg of their semi-final as Kai Havertz opened the scoring at Stamford Bridge, before Ben Davies’ 34th minute own goal completed the clean sheet.
Antonio Rudiger’s 18th minute bundled finish in the second leg at Spurs’ home ground eventually sealed a 3-0 aggregate victory, which saw Chelsea qualify for their ninth appearance in the final of this competition.
Liverpool
| Round | Opposition | Venue | Result |
| 3 | Norwich | Away | 0-3 |
| 4 | Preston | Away | 0-2 |
| Quarter-Finals | Leicester | Home | 3-3 (5-4 on penalties) |
| Semi Final – 1st Leg | Arsenal | Home | 0-0 |
| Semi-Finals – 2nd Leg | Arsenal | Away | 0-2 |
Liverpool also entered the competition at the Third Round stage as Takumi Minamino’s brace and Divock Origi secured easy passage past Norwich at Carrow Road, with the pair then each scoring once in a 2-0 away win at Preston in the Fourth Round.
Jurgen Klopp’s Reds then had to fight from 3-1 down at half-time to snatch a 3-3 draw at home to Leicester, through second-half goals from Diogo Jota and Takumi Minamino before prevailing 5-4 on penalties after the spot-kicks went to sudden death.
A Coronavirus outbreak in early January led to the first leg postponement and a swap of the legs of their semi-final against Arsenal, with the Reds held to a goalless draw in the first leg at Anfield despite Arsenal playing 66 minutes with just ten men.
Jota’s second leg brace however proved enough to send Liverpool through to a 13th Final in this competition, as the Merseyside club eventually prevailed 2-0 on aggregate with a victory at the Emirates Stadium.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea defeated Liverpool in their only previous clash in the Final of this competition (W1) – winning 3-2 after extra time to clinch 2004-05 League Cup title at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium..
- Liverpool have won just three of eight previous League Cup meetings against Chelsea (W3, D1, L4).
- Chelsea have won three of four previous League Cup clashes in which they were the home team against Liverpool (W3, L1).
- Kai Havertz is the only Chelsea player to score more than once in this season’s competition, having found the net on two occasions albeit in Fourth Round and first leg of semi-final.
- Seven of Liverpool’s ten goals in this season’s Carabao Cup have been scored by the combination of Takumi Minamino (4) and Diogo Jota (3).
Prediction
Despite clinically beating Lille on Tuesday evening with excellent defending, Chelsea were largely outplayed in attack but I expect them to come into this game fully ready for a battle after Romelu Lukaku and Mason Mount were both rested in midweek.
Liverpool meanwhile were absolutely ruthless against Leeds on Wednesday with a complete pressing performance, on top of clinical attacking and a solid defence pushing up the pitch comfortably but they can’t underestimate the different task here against Chelsea.
On that note, I expect a cracking clash here but Chelsea haven’t exactly been at their best in recent weeks despite showing a decisive clinical edge, whereas Liverpool have been in great form since 2022 arrived so goals are a certainty here.
I though fancy Liverpool to have the edge if they play like they did on Wednesday because I can’t see Chelsea’s defence holding out for 90 minutes against the Reds’ attacking press.
Prediction: Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool
Result: Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool (Liverpool WINS 11-10 on penalties!!)
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