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Manchester United legend and prominent pundit Gary Neville believes Chelsea have a good chance of winning the 2023-24 Carabao Cup final against Liverpool. He believes the Blues' counter-attacking style and the Reds' injury list are reasons for the same.
The two teams will clash at Wembley on Sunday, February 25. Chelsea will enter the fixture on a three-match unbeaten run, picking up an encouraging 1-1 draw at Manchester City in their most recent game. In that contest, Mauricio Pochettino's men hurt City on the counter on multiple occasions, including for their goal.
Liverpool, meanwhile, have won four of their last five matches, with their only defeat in that span coming at Arsenal. However, they are dealing with injuries across all departments. Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Dominik Szoboszlai, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic were all injured before their 4-1 win over Brentford at the weekend.
To add to their issues, Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez were substituted at different points in the match against the Bees.
With all of this in mind, Neville believes the Blues are in with a chance to win the Carabao Cup final, though he maintained that the Reds are favorites. The footballer-turned-pundit told Sky Sports (as quoted by Metro):
‘‘I think it’s game on. Liverpool fans, Liverpool players, Liverpool coaches will belooking at that Chelsea performance not just yesterday but they’ll think that they have players that can step up and deliver. It’s a big game for Chelsea but it’s a big game for Liverpool.
‘‘Nunez went off at half-time yesterday, Jota went off as well and Jones. when Nunez goes off, when Jota goes off, when Trent Alexander-Arnold isn’t playing, they’re a little weaker than they would like to be. Jurgen Klopp will be thinking ‘How many injuries am I going to get?’’’
He concluded:
‘‘Liverpool are favourites next week, let’s be clear. But Chelsea have a real chance. What they showed yesterday is that when a team push up the pitch – which Liverpool do – they can counter-attack and be really dangerous. I think it suits Chelsea.
‘‘[Nicolas] Jackson needs space to run into, [Raheem] Sterling needs space to run into, [Cole] Palmer likes to deliver passes into space. I think Chelsea find it harder like they did against Crystal Palace the other night that sit with ten on the sge of the box. I think it’s game on. I’m really looking forward to it. Liverpool will know they’re in for a game.’’
Pochettino's men made it into the Carabao Cup final after defeating Middlesbrough 6-2 on aggregate in the last four. Prior to that, they defeated Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, Brighton & Hove Albion and Wimbledon.
Liverpool, meanwhile, defeated Fulham 3-2 on aggregate in the semifinals. They beat West Ham United, Bournemouth and Leicester City prior to that.
Liverpool and Chelsea have clashed twice already this season
The two teams have already met twice in the Premier League this season.
The first of those meetings was on Matchday 1 of the league campaign back in August last year. That fixture at Stamford Bridge ended 1-1, with Axel Disasi equalizing eight minutes before half-time after Luis Diaz opened the scoring in the 18th minute.
Their second meeting was in January this year at Anfield and this time around, Jurgen Klopp's side eased to a 4-1 win. Right-back Conor Bradley led the charge with a goal and two assists, while Diogo Jota, Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz all got on the scoresheet. Christopher Nkunku netted a consolation for the visitors.
