Chelsea picked up a comfortable 2-0 win over Lille in the Champions League in midweek and this was the perfect confidence booster before the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
The Blues head to Wembley to take on Liverpool in the Carabao Cup finale and after a long time, Thomas Tuchel’s side will be the second-favourites in a game. While the Blues beat Lille on Tuesday, Liverpool thumped six goals past Bielsa’s Leeds United the very next day so Klopp’s men have even more momentum going into the final.
Chelsea have only a handful of injury concerns going into Sunday’s game but their manager needs to take some pivotal selection calls or else Liverpool could be making merry on the pitch. Tuchel needs to sort things out in the attacking areas since that’s been the main cause of concern for them this season.
The London outfit have not lost in their previous 7 matches across all competitions which might look like a really great record but they have been really struggling to put up good performances against the bigger sides. Chelsea have just won the Club World Cup so the players know what needs to be done in a one-off decider but this is Liverpool we are talking about so they will definitely have their work cut out.
Chelsea team news vs Liverpool:
After playing with a conventional back-four in a few games, Tuchel shifted back to his favoured 3-4-2-1 system in midweek and keeping Liverpool’s attack in mind, the German is once again going to use the same system.
With Hudson-Odoi still recovering from an injury, Azpilicueta will play as the right wing-back meaning Christensen will hold onto his place in defence.
Hudson-Odoi has an achilles injury so there’s no guarantee if he will be fully fit for Sunday’s game or not. Reece James should be rejoining training this week so the Carabao Cup final will come too early for him.
Jorginho was rested in midweek but the Italian will come back into the side, replacing Mateo Kovacic. Tuchel will want to keep N’Golo Kante in the first XI, keeping in mind, the numbers of trackbacks that need to be done against a team like Liverpool.
Kovacic picked up a knock in midweek but his manager has hinted that the midfielder should be back before Sunday.
Speaking to BT Sport, Tuchel said, as per Sky Sports: “I should have subbed Mateo at half-time. I have not spoken to the doctor about Hakim and hope it is not serious. Today is Tuesday, there are a lot of days to recover until Sunday. I hope they will be ready.”
Great news that Mateo Kovacic & Hakim Ziyech are both fine & that it was impact injuries they sustained on Tuesday. Even better news is that both Reece James & Callum Hudson Odoi have resumed training. pic.twitter.com/t8oh0cZkUs
— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) February 24, 2022
Mason Mount’s return to fitness has been a massive boost for the Chelsea boss and after getting a watching brief vs Lille, the England international should be starting on Sunday. Both Hakim Ziyech and Pulisic played really well in midweek but Tuchel should be bringing in the industrious Mount, to replace one of them.
Romelu Lukaku was on the bench in the Champions League game as Tuchel admitted that he had dropped him only to take him out of the firing line.
The manager told the press: “It was not the moment after the match where everybody was focused on the few touches that we had to put him right into the next fire. It was the moment to take a step back. That was the decision and that’s it.
“You can clearly see we have a strong win and strong performance. It was a tough match and almost every question is about Romelu. The focus is huge. There were nine other players who did not play.”
While the manager has said that Lukaku is in line to play against Liverpool but with the kind of performances he’s putting out, it’s safe to say that Kai Havertz is going to lead the line against Liverpool. Havertz scored against Lille so there’s no reason why the Chelsea boss should drop him.
UPDATE:
There’s plenty of good news for Chelsea as Hakim Ziyech and Mato Kovacic seems to have picked only minor knocks in midweek so both of them will be fit for Sunday’s final.
This is indeed positive news for the manager but we don’t think either of them will get to start. Tuchel will definitely go with the combination of Kante and Jorginho in central midfield.
While Ziyech was outstanding against Lille but with Mason Mount back to full fitness, Tuchel does not need to risk putting out a player who picked up a knock just a few days ago.
Reece James & Callum Hudson Odoi but we don’t think they are even close to getting starts on Sunday.
Chelsea predicted line up vs Liverpool:
Predicted Starting Line up(3-4-2-1): Edouard Mendy; Silva, Rudiger, Christensen; Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Marcos Alonso; Pulisic, Mount/Ziyech; Kai Havertz.
