Sunday's showpiece is potentially must-win for Mauricio Pochettino, and the stars may just be aligning for his Chelsea side
In years gone by, the League Cup was a mere appetiser for trophy-gorging Chelsea; a first, less significant piece of silverware on the menu to get them in the mood for bigger and better things in the months to come. In 2024, though, winning the much-derided cup will almost certainly make or break their season.
Mauricio Pochettino's side face Liverpool at Wembley on Sunday, and while the Reds find themselves in the enviable position of still being in the hunt for four different pieces of silverware, the Carabao Cup represents Chelsea's most realistic chance of winning a first trophy since the Club World Cup in 2022.
A victory for the Blues would be priceless – both in terms of the feeling around the club and tangibly in the form of guaranteed European football in 2024-25. The game seems to be coming around at just the right time, and it is an opportunity they must seize with both hands.
Getty ImagesDepleted opponent
Chelsea have had more than their fair share of injury issues this season, and they are still without captain Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Wesley Fofana, Thiago Silva and Marc Cucurella, among others, ahead of the final.
However, the tables may have turned in their favour ahead of Sunday's showdown. Liverpool have boasted a relatively clean bill of health throughout the season bar long-term absentees Thiago Alcantara and Joel Matip, but their own injury problems have deepened significantly in recent weeks.
While Chelsea are already accustomed to doing without the likes of James, Fofana and Cucurella, Jurgen Klopp will be without a host of first-team players who have played key roles in their campaign to date; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai, Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones are all sidelined, as is No.1 goalkeeper Alisson. If that wasn't bad enough, there are also doubts over key attacking players Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez.
Of course, Liverpool still possess a wealth of quality, dispatching Brentford and Luton in consecutive 4-1 victories despite having all of those players missing, but the upheaval within the squad may just level the playing field at Wembley somewhat.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesFinally showing some form
Liverpool's fitness woes have certainly contributed to an inescapable sense that this game just might be arriving at the perfect interval for Chelsea. It would be wrong to say the west Londoners are 'in form', given they are far too inconsistent to pinpoint exactly what 'form' is for this iteration of the Blues, but in the past three games they have played some of their best football of the entire season – and there are signs that they are maybe, , capable of putting a run of results together in the remainder of the campaign to salvage something.
Chelsea sprung a surprise as they dominated from the first whistle to the last against high-flying Aston Villa in their FA Cup fourth-round replay, deservedly running out 3-1 winners. That was followed by a hard-earned comeback victory over Crystal Palace, showing some new-found mettle to snatch victory at the death.
They so nearly capped their resurgence with an admirable away win at title-chasing Manchester City, but they lost control of the game after a very solid 70 minutes and were instead forced to settle for a creditable draw.
All of this bodes well, and they must carry the same hunger into Sunday. Pochettino knows this. "In the last few weeks, we have learned a lot and stepped up," he said in his pre-final press conference. "We arrive in a very good moment and condition. After Wolves, [the wins that followed] provided the team with confidence and trust. It was a click to change to compete that we maybe missed."
Getty Images Guaranteed European football
Chelsea may well feel that they have more to play for, too. Liverpool are still fighting on four fronts – leading the Premier League, standing a very good chance of winning the Europa League, and facing a favourable FA Cup fifth-round tie at home to Southampton. The Carabao Cup, then, is arguably the lowest priority.
For Pochettino's men, this final now represents the most obvious route to securing European football for next season, with the winner gaining passage to the Conference League playoff round – although their participation could be thrown into doubt over potential financial breaches.
That won't be added motivation for Klopp's Reds, who are all-but guaranteed Champions League football, but should be for Chelsea, who are still mired in mid-table in the Premier League and face plenty of competition to win the FA Cup – which secures a place in the Europa League.
If the Blues can find some modicum of form over the next three months, the intention will surely be to push as far up the league table as possible. But if all else fails, the Conference League at least offers something of a safety net and a platform to build to better things.
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Getty Helping hand from broadcasters
The fixture schedulers may have also handed Chelsea a significant advantage. Having last played on Saturday, the Blues have had a week and a day to prepare for the final, while Liverpool found themselves in midweek action against Luton.
That game was rescheduled from Saturday during the 3pm blackout as a result of the Reds reaching the Carabao Cup final, but Chelsea have avoided the same fate despite originally being slated to play Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Friday, February 23.
Why? Because that game had already been selected for broadcast by Sky Sports, and therefore it could not be moved to clash with Champions League games being played in midweek and broadcast on TNT Sports, per an agreement between the two networks.
Klopp has often bemoaned broadcasters' influence on the congested fixture schedule, and Liverpool's injury list suggests he has good reason, so this rearrangement will leave him quietly seething. Luton provided his depleted team with a worthy test on Wednesday night, so he will hope they have enough in the tank on Sunday.