Carabao Cup Final: Chelsea vs Manchester City predicted line-ups

Can Chelsea pull-off an upset?
Can Chelsea pull-off an upset?

Manchester City's quest for an "impossible" quadruple will take centre stage on Sunday night when they face a Chelsea side that is knee deep in the malodorous stuff. The two sides' most recent encounter resulted in a 6-0 win for Pep Guardiola's men, and another drubbing would effectively signal the end of Sarri's tenure in West London.

With the prospect of a two-window transfer ban looming over the horizon, Chelsea are arguably at their lowest point during the Roman Abramovich era. A win in the Carabao Cup final would certainly lighten the mood at Stamford Bridge and allow the Blues to hit the reset button on a tumultuous season.

However, springing an upset on the reigning Premier League Champions will prove to be a daunting prospect for a Chelsea team devoid of grit and tactical flexibility.

Team News

Manchester City

The likes of Phil Foden, Arijanet Muric and Oleksandr Zinchenko have been regularly included in City's Carabao Cup run, but they could make way for the regulars during the big game.

During a mid-week press conference, Guardiola stated that John Stones, Gabriel Jesus, and Benjamin Mendy — all of whom missed the Champions League game against Schalke —were doubts for the final.

Meanwhile, skipper Vincent Kompany returned to action as a substitute during his team's win at Gelsenkirchen and will hope to repeat his heroics from last season's final against Arsenal.

Chelsea

The Blues are sweating on the availability of record signing Kepa Arrizabalaga, who missed Thursday's win over Malmo with a hamstring issue. Pedro and Davide Zappacosta also sat out the Europa League game, which prevented Sarri from being able to give Cesar Azpilicueta a breather.

According to SB Nation, Sarri has opted to go with minimal preparations for the final and has given his wards Friday and Saturday morning off.

Predicted line-up

Manchester City: Ederson Moraes; Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte, Vincent Kompany (c), Oleksandr Zinchenko; Fernandinho, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne; Bernardo Silva, Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling

Chelsea: Kepa Arrizabalaga; Cesar Azpilicueta (c), David Luiz, Antonio Rudiger, Marcos Alonso; Jorginho, N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic; Eden Hazard, Gonzalo Higuain, Pedro Rodriguez

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Edited by Kingshuk Kusari