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Guide to everything that you need to know as Chelsea face Liverpool at Wembley Stadium in the 2023-24 Carabao Cup Final.
Victory would see Liverpool notch up a 10th title in this competition, whilst Chelsea seek to claim their sixth EFL Cup triumph.
Team News
Thiaga Silva could return for Chelsea after he missed their 1-1 draw at Manchester City in the Premier League, due to a groin injury which he suffered in a comeback win at Crystal Palace.
Benoit Badiashile (groin), Marc Cucurella (ankle), Reece James, Lesley Ugochukwu (both hamstring), Wesley Fofana (ACL), Carney Chukwuemeka (knee) and Romeo Lavia (knock) remain ruled out.
Liverpool could be without Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah due to muscle and hamstring injuries respectively, which forced the pair to miss the Reds’ midweek Premier League win over Luton.
Dominik Szoboszlai (hamstring) could return if he passes fitness checks but is unlikely to be risked in the starting line-up.
Ben Doak, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota (all knee), Joel Matip (ACL), Curtis Jones (bone), Thiago Alcantara (muscle), Stefan Bajcetic (calf) and Alisson (hamstring) remain absent.
Route to the Final
Chelsea
| Round | Opposition | Venue | Result |
| 2 | AFC Wimbledon | H | 2-1 |
| 3 | Brighton | H | 1-0 |
| 4 | Blackburn | H | 2-0 |
| Quarter-Final | Newcastle | H | 1-1 (4-2p) |
| Semi-Final (1) | Middlesbrough | A | 1-0 |
| Semi-Final (2) | Middlesbrough | H | 6-1 |
Noni Madueke’s penalty and Enzo Fernandez’s goal saw Chelsea come from behind to avoid an early cupset against AFC Wimbledon, before Nicolas Jackson netted a 50th minute winner to beat Brighton in the Third Round.
Badiashile and Raheem Sterling found the net in a clinical Fourth Round win over Blackburn, prior to Mykhailo Mudryk’s late equaliser in a 1-1 draw against Newcastle and the Ukranian subsequently scored the winning penalty to prevail 4-2 after a shootout.
Hayden Hackney’s 37th minute strike downed Chelsea in the first leg of their semi-final against Middlesbrough, only for the Blues to hit back at home with a brace from Cole Palmer helping them win 6-1 in the second leg and 6-2 on aggregate.
Liverpool
| Round | Opposition | Venue | Result |
| 3 | Leicester | H | 3-1 |
| 4 | Bournemouth | A | 1-2 |
| Quarter-Final | West Ham | H | 5-1 |
| Semi-Final (1) | Fulham | H | 2-1 |
| Semi-Final (2) | Fulham | A | 1-1 |
Having bypassed the opening two rounds due to having qualified for the Champions League, Liverpool needed second half goals from Cody Gakpo, Szoboszlai and Jota to beat Leicester after Kasey McAteer put the Foxes ahead in the third minute.
Darwin Nunez struck a 70th minute winner to ease the Reds past Bournemouth after Gakpo’s opening goal was cancelled out by Justin Kluivert.
Szoboszlai, Gakpo and Salah were on the scoresheet as Liverpool thrashed West Ham 5-1 at home in the Quarter-Finals, in which Curtis Jones netted twice for the hosts.
Comeback goals from Jones and Gakpo saw Liverpool come from behind to beat Fulham in the first leg of their semi-final, before Luis Diaz’s early second leg strike proved enough to win 3-2 on aggregate.
When is Kick-Off?
Chelsea meet Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 25 February in a 3pm GMT kick-off, live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea have won one of their two previous EFL Cup final ties against Liverpool (W1, L1), although their loss came on penalties in 2022 after a 0-0 draw.
- Liverpool are unbeaten in their only previous EFL Cup Final played against Chelsea at Wembley, having won 11-10 on penalties after their goalless draw in 2022.
- Chelsea won their only previous EFL Cup Final against Livepool to be played at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon, which came in a 3-2 victory after extra-time in 2004-05 Final.
- Liverpool have failed to keep a clean sheet in this season’s competition (W4, D1).
- Both of Chelsea’s two goals against Premier League opposition in this season’s Carabao Cup came in the second half (W1, D1).
Prediction
Despite their injury crisis, Liverpool certainly demonstrated their depth and versatility to adapt in their comeback win over Luton, having produced a sluggish first half yet were able to turn on the style with a ruthlessly clinical second half.
That performance therefore has to inspire Jurgen Klopp’s Reds because even if Salah and Nunez don’t return, they still have the quality needed to win this game especially if Conor Bradley can get at Chelsea’s left flank like he did in their recent league clash at Anfield.
Chelsea meanwhile seem to have finally found some consistency and groove lately especially when on the counter-attack, which actually is their best hope here but they can’t waste opportunities like they did at Man City where they could of won if been more clinical on the break.
I however do feel like Liverpool will have too much for Chelsea such is their hot form with goalscoring threats across the entire pitch.
Prediction: Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool
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