Chelsea vs Liverpool: Three tactical battles that will decide Carabao Cup final

Later today, Chelsea and Liverpool will do battle in the Carabao Cup final.

Despite suffering from a spate of injuries, the Reds are the favourites to lift a record-extending 10th Carabao Cup as Jurgen Klopp looks to depart Anfield with a haul of silverware.

Mauricio Pochettino has often struggled against Klopp, with just one win and five draws in their 13 meetings over the years.

Here, we preview the key areas where the trophy will be won and lost at Wembley.

How do you outgun Liverpool?

No Premier League team has scored more than Liverpool this season. The Reds’ five main attackers have 67 goals in all competitions — Mohamed Salah (19), Diogo Jota (14), Darwin Nunez (13), Cody Gakpo (11) and Luis Diaz (10).

By contrast, Chelsea’s top five forwards have scored 37 times. Amid such a huge disparity, the question is, who will be the match-winner?

Midfield to repay the investors

Theoretically, the one area where Chelsea should outgun Liverpool is in midfield. Chelsea beat Liverpool to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton for £115million, having secured Enzo Fernandez from under their noses.

After missing out on two key targets, Jurgen Klopp signed Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch instead. Liverpool, however, kept winning on the pitch, and it is up to the £100m duo to change the conversation.

Beware of the press

Chelsea were dominated by Liverpool’s press in the 4-1 defeat at Anfield last month. The intensity of Klopp’s famously dubbed ‘heavy metal football’ forced Chelsea into making mistakes, including giving away a penalty.

But Pochettino’s side showed since they could play through Pep Guardiola’s equally impressive press last weekend, creating several counter-attacks, including the opening for Raheem Sterling’s goal. It will be another chess game on Sunday.