Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has been speaking about Chelsea ahead of the Carabao Cup final today.
Chelsea and Liverpool face each other at Wembley this afternoon and Virgil van Dijk has told the Liverpool Echo that it will not be an easy game.
The Reds actually beat their Premier League rivals 4-1 only a month ago, but today’s affair should be a completely different encounter.
Jurgen Klopp will be without several key players, including Diogo Jota, who scored in Liverpool’s win against Chelsea in January, and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Blues’ form has also picked up since then, something that Van Dijk has highlighted.
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Virgil van Dijk acknowledges Chelsea’s recent improvement
Van Dijk has noticed Chelsea’s improvement of late, with Mauricio Pochettino‘s men earning a draw against Manchester City last weekend after wins versus Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.
Speaking ahead of today’s game, the central defender said: “Going to Wembley will be an amazing experience again. And it’s a big opportunity to get silverware and hopefully it gives us an extra boost for the last part of the season. We know it’s going to be tough.
“Chelsea are a very good team with very good individual players and they have found a way to perform better recently than maybe they have done in the past. With their quality, they could hurt us. They are a very good team and we have to be very good against them as well.”
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Have Chelsea improved enough to beat Liverpool?
Pochettino’s side have improved to the point where they were able to get a draw at the Etihad.
There were some really good individual performances that day, including from Axel Disasi.
After the match, Alan Shearer described the centre-back as a “tower of strength” as he put him in his Premier League Team of the Week.
Raheem Sterling was a real threat as well, managing to score against his former side.
All in all, Chelsea have certainly gone up a gear recently and if the likes of Disasi and Sterling show up today, then the Blues will have a chance of beating Liverpool.
It has obviously not been a great season for Pochettino and his team, so hopefully they can deliver this trophy.
