Jamie Griffith's tips for the Carabao Cup final at Wembley include a win for the underdogs with plenty of goals.
The EFL Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool dominates Sunday’s sporting action and it should be a cracking contest between two attack-minded teams.
Chelsea held the Champions Man City to a 1-1 draw in their latest outing last weekend, while Liverpool crushed Luton 4-1 on Wednesday night.
There’s a whopping 25 points separating the top-of-the-table Reds and mid-table Blues in the Premier League this term, but a one-off Wembley contest could bring the two sides closer together.
Selections
Chelsea to win in 90 minutes
/
Over 3.5 goals
/
Cole Palmer to be shown a card
Chelsea could leave Reds feeling blue
One look at the Premier League table and you would be itching to back Liverpool to win Sunday’s EFL Cup final against Chelsea. However, there are a few reasons to think that the Blues could upset Jurgen Klopp’s men at Wembley.
Liverpool have a whole host of key players injured, with Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, Curtis Jones, Alisson, Thiago Alcantara, Dominik Szoboszlai, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Stefan Bajcetic all missing Wednesday’s contest with Luton. That was a game that Luton were leading at half-time and may well have got a result from, had Hatters boss Rob Edwards not been more interested in trying to become friends with Klopp.
Chelsea have enjoyed a clear week to prepare for the final and this is a Blues outfit that has performed well against the Premier League elite this season.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men have twice avoided defeat against Man City, they were the better team in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool as well as a 2-2 stalemate with Arsenal and they have the counter-attacking potential to hurt a depleted Liverpool side.
At the prices, it could pay to side with the Blues on Sunday.
Goals could flow in Wembley showdown
There have been a total of 28 goals scored in Chelsea’s last seven matches, while Liverpool’s previous eight matches have seen the net bulge a combined 36 times.
The Blues could do with collecting the EFL Trophy to salvage something from a pretty poor campaign and Liverpool will be hoping to send Klopp off with a trophy when he leaves at the end of the season.
These are two forward-thinking sides, and the additional factors mean we may well get an open and free-flowing EFL Cup final on Sunday. It’s 6/4 that the Wembley showdown goes over 3.5 goals and that looks a solid bet.
Palmer heading for the referees book
Cole Palmer has been shown seven yellow cards this season with all of those cautions having come after he made the move to Chelsea from Man City and his closing down and pressing of opposition players could land him in trouble at Wembley.
Palmer was booked in both draws with his former club Man City as well as the clash with London rivals Arsenal back in October, so the English forward clearly has a tendency to get on the wrong side of referees in passionate encounters, making him a prime candidate to receive a yellow card on Sunday.
)
)
