The Carabao Cup Final
Liverpool take on Chelsea in this years Carabao Cup Final as we have the first final without Man City since the 2016/17 season! We still have 2 of the heaviest hitting heavyweights in the prem though looking to take the first domestic silverware of the year and our man #Oddsknows will be at the game with The Cheeky Punts Champion Tipster from the end of last year, Mark. Hopefully we'll get some great shots from the game for you and we will try to share them on here or on our Social Media channels for the day
Back to the game though and lets start with Chelsea. Thomas Tuchels blues have fallen away from contention in the Premier League but one thing we can be sure of is their cup credentials. Tuchel has proved a master at the one off games, guiding Chelsea to the Champions League last year although they did slip up somewhat when losing to Leicester in the FA Cup final here at Wembley, their cup form under Tuchel though can not be underestimated. Lets not forget that they have added the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club Word Cup already this season so the Blues are certainly racking up the silverware.
Recent form however hasn't been great, Lukaku has failed to settle and they have certainly missed James and Chillwell so all is not perfect for the boys from West London. And stopping this Liverpool side is no easy task so it will need a big performance to see the trophy going back to London for the first time since Chelsea actually won it back in 2015
On to Liverpool and the Reds have a rich history in the competition, in its many names, over the years having won this 8 times although 4 of those came in a real domination period in the early 80s. Man Citys recent run of wins has actually drawn them level so as an extra incentive for Liverpool, not that they would need it, is that a win today will take them clear of their modern day rivals from down the road.
Liverpool will no doubt look to dominate the ball and be on the front foot, and Robertson and Alexander-Arnold are sure to play a key part if the reds are to be successful. The fine scoring form for Liverpool is a touch reliant on these guys and along with Mo Salah they make up the top 3 in terms of assists for the Premier League this season (Trent & Salah on 10 with Robertson on 9). Liverpool also have the top 3 in the leading scorer table for the Prem with Salah top followed by his strike partners Jota and Mane. Stopping the full backs and the front 3 for Liverpool isn't something many teams have yet figured out and that, in part, explains why they come in to this on the back of 9 consecutive wins
Despite that fine form though, and perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Liverpool come in to this looking for the first silverware since ending the 30 years of pain when winning the Premier League title. Whilst its great to get a trophy in the bank, the stats from the last 10 years show it has little real impact with a 50/50 split and just 5 clubs going on to win the League. A number of those also coincided with Man Citys fine run domestically in recent years. Liverpool and manager Jurgen Klopp will be hoping though that this can be another step in their pursuit of the current leaders and really ramp up the pressure on City
On paper this looks a very tight game to call and I think this has all the looks of a potential draw after 90 minutes, available at 21/10 with William Hill. Both sides are 9/1 to win on Penalties and this doesn't look a bad bet.
We'll also have a few more picks for you as we get closer to the game and the teams are announced
Let us know who you think will win on our Social Media pages and let us see what you fancy too. You can find us on Facebook or on Twitter at all the usual places and good luck