Liverpool’s last skirmish with Chelsea on January 31st was a one-sided romp that finished 4-1 in the Reds’ favour, on an evening where the hosts pummelled their visitors with 28 attempts at Anfield.

Chelsea couldn’t get to grips with Liverpool’s intensity on Merseyside and the hard-pressing Reds flew into 30 tackles against their shell-shocked opponents in front of The Kop.

Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino has long struggled to come up with a tactical blueprint to match Jurgen Klopp and the ex-Spurs manager has won just one of his previous 13 meetings with the German’s teams over the years.

However, with Alisson Becker, Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota and Trent Alexander-Arnold ruled out and major doubts about the availability of Dominik Szoboszlai, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah for Liverpool to contend with, Pochettino might never have a better opportunity to reverse that trend.

Liverpool coped brilliantly with that lengthy list of absentees to beat Luton in midweek, though the going might not be so smooth in their absence against Chelsea, who counter-punched well against the odds at Man City (1-1) last weekend.

The team news fog probably won’t clear until the XIs are actually announced an hour before kick-off on Sunday and as such, it might be better to steer clear of match result predictions for the cup final.
Instead, backing both teams to score for the eighth straight fixture involving Liverpool and the seventh time in eight Chelsea matches appeals.

The Reds have struggled for clean sheets (two in 11) since Christmas and with Alisson’s calming presence missing, they could concede again. Few teams create as many opportunities to score as Klopp’s energetic chargers however, and Liverpool have failed to score only once in 39 competitive fixtures in 2023/24.

Both teams notched in each of Liverpool and Chelsea’s two Premier League encounters this term, so expect more of the same in the Carabao Cup Final.

With several of his attacking counterparts struggling for fitness, midweek goalscorer Luis Diaz seems certain to retain his starting spot and the Colombian is superb value to register at least one accurate attempt on cup final day.

The 27-year-old racked up seven shots over two impactful appearances against Chelsea in Liverpool’s Premier League tussles with the Blues, landing three efforts on target across the meetings.

Diaz has also mustered seven shots on target in his last three starts for the Reds and his pace and close control should be potent weapons on the big pitch at Wembley Stadium.

Cole Palmer meanwhile, has made the transition from promising youngster to talismanic figure at Chelsea and the talented forward has managed to land a shot on target in seven of his last nine appearances for the Londoners. The 21-year-old is clever enough to find room to test stand-in Liverpool stopper Caoimhín Kelleher with at least one strike on Sunday.

Towering centre-half Virgil van Dijk is another contender with merit from Liverpool’s ranks. The Dutch defender rarely fails to threaten from set pieces and he planted two headers on goal against Luton in midweek, and has registered at least one attempt in each of his last six appearances.

Van Dijk had an attempt at goal in each of Liverpool’s previous two meetings with Chelsea this season, so look for the 32-year-old to match that output again.

Chelsea needed a couple of slices of luck to take a point from their trip to Man City last weekend, though their “sit deep and counter” gameplan looked useful enough to be deployed again against another possession-hungry outfit in Sunday’s cup final.

Ceding plenty of ground throughout, Chelsea lost the corner battle 12-1 to City at The Etihad and while the tally might not be weighted so extremely against them at Wembley, bettors should still expect Liverpool to win more of them.

The Reds won eight to Chelsea’s one at Anfield on January 31st and the Merseysiders have been winning 6.60 corners per Premier League fixture on average overall this season. On that evidence, looking to Liverpool in the markets feels like the logical move.

This one is slightly team news dependent again, however, Liverpool will expect to play the majority of the Carabao Cup Final in Chelsea’s half and backing them to win over 5.5 corners could be a solid play.

Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo chose Chelsea over Liverpool last summer and the 22-year-old didn’t enjoy his first trip to Anfield as a blue in January where he was booked after just 11 minutes.

Caicedo committed two fouls in that 4-1 loss for Chelsea, while his foil in midfield, Enzo Fernandez collected a caution for one of his three indiscretions.

Both players have been steady performers in both the fouls and cards markets this term with Caicedo amassing eight yellows in all competitions and Fernandez picking up seven. The hard-hitters are also listed near the top of the pile at Chelsea for average fouls committed per game.

Feeling the pressure to perform against the club he jilted again, Caicedo seems certain to tackle with extra zeal on Sunday, making him a plum choice to foul at least twice and to be carded again, while Argentinean schemer Fernandez also catches the eye in the 2+ fouls market.

Liverpool meanwhile, remain masters of the small tactical fouls and despite earning two bookings to Chelsea’s four in January, they more or less matched the Blues for fouls committed (15-16).

Midfield lynchpin Alexis Mac Allister avoided a card that day despite giving away four free kicks, and he seems to have inherited ex-Reds star Fabinho’s teflonic ability to stay out of the referee’s notebook.

Nevertheless, the World Cup winner, who has fouled at least twice in 13 separate appearances in all competitions this season, could be worth taking to foul two or more times again when he battles for midfield supremacy against his compatriot Enzo Fernandez.