Chelsea meet Liverpool in the Carabao Cup Final for the second time in three seasons for the first piece of major silverware of the campaign. The two sides played out a 0-0 with The Reds winning on penalties back in 2022 to bring Jurgen Klopp his first domestic cup at Anfield. Here, Last Word on Football gives our prediction and best odds for Chelsea vs Liverpool.
Predictions and Best Odds for Chelsea vs Liverpool in Carabao Cup Final
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Chelsea Current Run of Form
Chelsea come into the game on a three-game unbeaten run, beating Aston Villa and Crystal Palace and earning a highly respectable draw at Manchester City on February 17. The Blues haven’t been on a run of more than four games unbeaten at any stage this season, so inconsistency has been a problem for the side.
Prior to the last three matches, Pochettino’s men had suffered a 4-2 defeat at home to Wolves, which was a disappointing follow-up to their 4-1 defeat at Anfield to Sunday’s opponents.
Conor Gallagher has been a man in form, having netted his first goal of the season in the FA Cup victory over Villa before scoring twice in the comeback win over Palace, for whom he had a successful loan spell in 2021/22.
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Liverpool Current Run of Form
Liverpool arrive into the cup final in good form having slipped up at the start of the month away to title rivals Arsenal. Klopp’s men had been scintillating in front of goal in January prior to their trip to the Emirates and they have rediscovered that hot goal streak in their three matches since.
The Reds played host to Burnley in a 3-1 win on February 10 before beating both Brentford and Luton Town 4-1. Liverpool boasts the most potent offence in the Premier League with 63 goals scored and their xG of 58.8 is superior to that of of their nearest challengers (Arsenal and Manchester City with 51).
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The recent ruthlessness has been made more impressive by the fact that top scorer Mohamed Salah has missed all but one game since New Year’s Day whilst the Reds were also without Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota in the 4-1 win over Luton. The latter picked up an injury in the win over Brentford and will definitely be absent for this game.
Recent Head-to-Head
The most recent meeting between the sides was the aforementioned fixture at Anfield where the Reds ran riot against the Blues in another game where Liverpool scored four goals. It could have been worse for Pochettino’s side however Nunez also missed a penalty after striking the woodwork, which he did a further three times to create a new Premier League record for woodwork struck in a single match.
Prior to that, Chelsea hosted the Reds at Stamford Bridge on the opening day of the season with the sides sharing the points in a 1-1 draw. Draws have been a common theme in this fixture for a while now with seven of the last eight finishing level after 90 minutes.
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Two of those games were the domestic cup finals that these sides contested in 2022 with both finishing 0-0 and Liverpool prevailing on penalties in each.
Chelsea vs Liverpool Prediction
The odds favour Liverpool coming into this one but it is always much more difficult to predict the outcome of a final. Klopp’s men might be clinical in front of goal right now and will hope to have Salah and Nunez back however finals tend to be cagey affairs with teams equally worried about not losing.
Chelsea’s recent upturn in form has seen them beat a Villa side who themselves have been struggling, Crystal Palace who were in free fall and whilst the draw over City was commendable, Pep Guardiola’s side missed 3 big chances as defined by Fotmob and would have won that fixture on most occasions.
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It would be a surprise to see the same outcome of the last two finals between the sides. The Reds are missing Alisson in goal which does impact them defensively and they are now without a clean sheet in seven which suggests Chelsea will likely find the net. That might not be enough, however.
Prediction: Liverpool to win 2-1.
Current Odds: Chelsea vs Liverpool
Chelsea – 47/20
Draw – 25/9
Liverpool – 23/20
* Please note that in a cup final, you are usually betting on match outcomes after 90 minutes.
