Carabao Cup: Klopp vs Tuchel is a Box Office Final

Liverpool vs Chelsea

Two German head coaches come head to head on Sunday when Liverpool face Chelsea in the 2022 Carabao Cup final. And both teams are bang in form, with six wins from the last six.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool come into the game on the back of a 6-0 destruction of Leeds United while Chelsea eased through a Champions League tie with French club Lille. Thomas Tuchel and Klopp will contest the 62^nd League Cup and, for an eventual winner, the Carabao Cup 2022 betting odds predict a close fought contest, with Liverpool favourites at a price of 1.74 while Chelsea are 2.16 to lift the first silverware of 2022.

The only other time the two teams met in the final, back in 2005, the clash went to extra time and with both sides so hard to beat there is every chance we could see 120 minutes of action on Sunday.

And we will witness two of the best motivators and tacticians in the game; the touchline will be as good a watch as the pitch!   

Talking Points

Salah and Mane hot for Liverpool

Former Chelsea star Mo Salah and Sadio Mane scored twice each as the Reds fired six past hapless Leeds, the Egyptian making it 19 goals for the season with two first half penalties, and Liverpool  have scored 17 goals over the past six games in all competitions. This club is a goal scoring machine which has blown the title race wide open. Chelsea will have to keep an eye on the Reds’ flying wing backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson while centre backs Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip also carry a goal threat, both getting on the score-sheet against Leeds.    

But you won’t keep Salah out of the Carabao Cup 2022 highlights package and he has every chance of haunting his old club again.

Lukaku’s place in the balance

The Blues Champions League clash with Lille turned out to be a regulation home win as Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic scored in either half to give Chelsea a two goal advantage and a crucial clean sheet at home. Star striker Romelu Lukaku was left out of the game after he had such a poor showing in the Blues’ 1-0 win over Crystal Palace last weekend. The Belgian had just seven touches all game and only an 89^th minute strike from Hakim Ziyech saved Chelsea’s blushes.

But winning ugly is a good habit for any team to have; to take three points when you’re not playing well is the form of Champions. While the Premier League title will be fought out between Liverpool and Manchester City, Tuchel’s side are still fighting for three trophies, having already picked up the World Club Championship with a 2-1 win over Palmeiros as Lukaku and Havertz were on target. But in this run of six wins the Blues have failed to score over two goals in any match, beating Plymouth Argyle 1-0 in the FA Cup. Tuchel has plenty of flair players in his side, but I suspect he needs a focal point; a 20 goal man, which is what he paid so much money for when he brought Lukaku back to the club.

This could be the Belgian’s chance to shine on the biggest stage.

History

Liverpool and Chelsea are League Cup royalty, winning 13 titles between them, eight for the Reds and five for the Blues.   

The two teams have only met once in the League Cup final, in 2005 when Jose Mourinho won his first trophy as Chelsea head coach as the Blues ran out 3-2 winners. Mourinho missed his side’s extra time victory after he was sent off for taunting Liverpool fans when Steven Gerrard scored an own goal to hand Chelsea a late equaliser in normal time.  

Chelsea have made it nine finals in total, winning five, while Liverpool have jointly won the most League Cups in the competition’s history, at eight alongside Manchester City, while appearing in 13 finals.

The Reds are the competition’s second highest scorers of all time with 491 goals, 16 behind Aston Villa’s 507, and that’s a record they won’t reach against Chelsea’s well organised defence.    

Betting Tip

The Reds are at SBOTOP odds of 2.40 to win in 90 minutes while Chelsea are priced at 2.76 and the draw is 3.01.

Liverpool have the edge and strikers in hot form, while the Blues’ main man is a little out of sorts. But Chelsea and Tuchel are the men for a big occasion as they proved when they beat Manchester City in the 2021 Champions League final.     

 

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