Chris Sutton has made his pre-match prediction for this Sunday’s EFL Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool.
There’s a clash of two Premier League giants this weekend at Wembley Stadium, with Chelsea facing Liverpool for the Carabao Cup trophy.
The Blues often tend to raise their levels this season against the top opposition, but there was a major slip up last month when they lost 4-1 at Anfield. Hopefully, Mauricio Pochettino’s side learned a lot from that big Liverpool defeat.
BBC pundit Chris Sutton has had difficulty predicting which way the League Cup final will go this weekend. Eventually, he’s tipped a Liverpool victory over Chelsea after extra time.
“I was at Anfield a few weeks ago, when Liverpool absolutely thrashed Chelsea 4-1. To say it was a demolition does not do it justice,” Sutton told BBC Sport.
“It was billed then as a dress rehearsal for this final and, when I was thinking about it afterwards, I just thought there is no way you would give the Blues any chance whatsoever based on what happened in that game.
“But then you see Chelsea hold Manchester City last weekend, when they almost held on at 1-0 and, with better finishing, had the chances to go further in front.
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“Meanwhile, with Liverpool, there are injury doubts over so many of their forwards, including Mohamed Salah. Is he fit, or not? We don’t know.
“Liverpool were woeful in the first half against Luton on Wednesday, then wonderful after the break. We will have to wait and see which Liverpool turn up, but the same can obviously be said about Chelsea.
“So, the question is whether I am going to end up being hoodwinked by that display against City, or whether the tide really is about to turn for Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino.
“I am not convinced that the latter is the case. As I said at the very start, I was tempted to go with Chelsea… but I have talked myself out of it.
“Sutton’s prediction: 1-2 after extra-time.”
Chelsea vs Liverpool
If you take out Chelsea’s most recent loss to Liverpool, the previous seven meetings between the clubs had been draws after 90 minutes.
There’s no denying that the Reds carry the favourites tag for this weekend’s final because they’re still competing for silverware in four separate competitions this campaign. But they’ll know Chelsea do pose a threat to them, especially as they go from the poor to the spectacular so randomly right now.
Speaking on The Footballer’s Football podcast this week, West Ham’s Michail Antonio has predicted a Liverpool win over Chelsea. It does seem a popular pre-match prediction from most football brains, but definitely don’t write the Blues off yet.
We think this Sunday would be a real catalyst for Pochettino in the Chelsea dugout if he can mastermind a win and secure a trophy in his first year.
