Chelsea vs Liverpool LIVE: Latest Carabao Cup final team news, line-ups and more today

Liverpool have scored the fastest ever goal in this fixture, and it came against Chelsea. John Arne Riise struck after just 45 seconds in the 2005 showpiece, though the Blues won 3-2 after extra-time.

If today’s match starts in such a fashion we’ll be in for a cracking game.

Chilwell is one of the survivors of that night three years ago, one of only three members of the Chelsea squad along with Reece James and Thiago Silva to have brought a trophy back to Stamford Bridge.

Virgil van Dijk says that it’s always a ‘special feeling’ to participate in a cup final and that a victory at Wembley this afternoon would give his team a ‘massive boost’ for the bck end of the season.

“It’s a special feeling,” said the Liverpool captain,

“Playing finals for this football club is something out of this world and obviously you don’t want to lose finals first and foremost, but it is always a special thing and it is the first chance for silverware.

“Hopefully, if it happens, it will give us a massive boost for the last part of the season. It’s amazing and we all should enjoy the occasion, but definitely be out there and show the quality that we have.”

Mauricio Pochettino believes Chelsea are “ready” to win the Carabao Cup after recent results that have altered the course of their season ahead of Sunday’s final.

The meeting with Liverpool at Wembley will be the club’s first final since co-owner Todd Boehly took charge and embarked on a radical overhaul that has so far not brought success.

Of Liverpool’s nine previous League Cup final victories, only two were achieved inside 90 minutes with those being against Bolton Wanderers in 1995 and Manchester United in 2003.

The other seven required extra-time, penalty shootouts or replays.

Mauricio Pochettino has urged Chelsea supporters not to judge him on whether or not his team lifts the Carabao Cup at Wembley on Sunday.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool stand in the way of a first trophy since co-owner Todd Boehly bought the club in May 2022 and began a radical overhaul.

The Argentinian is also aiming to win silverware for the first time in England, having been runner-up in this competition to his current club in 2015 while in charge of Tottenham.

The two sides go toe-to-toe for the first domestic silverware of the season on Sunday 25 February.

Liverpool are looking to win a record-extending 12th League Cup, while Chelsea are chasing their sixth crown.

The Blues are also looking to win their first domestic trophy since 2018 after losing three Wembley finals in a row – including both Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals to Liverpool on penalties two years ago.

Liverpool are aiming to lift the trophy for a record 10th time, which would put them two successes ahead of Manchester City. In comparison Chelsea have won the League Cup five times with their most recent success coming in 2014-15.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says he is ‘very proud’ to lead out the Reds at Wembley this afternoon as the Merseyside club looks to win another trophy during the tenure of Jurgen Klopp.

The Reds face Chelsea in a repeat of the 2022 Carabao Cup final with this match the club’s first final since Van Dijk’s appointment as captain.

“Very proud, very proud,” Van Dijk told Liverpoolfc.com. “Of course it was, I won’t say a relief, but [I had] the feeling of being proud when we obviously got the job done at Fulham and it will be a very proud day, a special day.

“Hopefully we can make it the best possible outcome by winning the cup and taking it back to Liverpool.

“I very much look forward to it. I very much look forward to seeing all our fans there of course, and hopefully getting our first silverware of the season.

“Obviously in this competition a lot of youngsters have contributed to where we are at the moment so everyone can feel proud and connected to where we are at the moment – and I think that’s why it’s good that we are there.”

The Argentinian’s resurgent team face Liverpool at Wembley looking to claim the club’s first silverware since co-owner Todd Boehly took over in May 2022.

In that time there has been an almost total overhaul of personnel both on the pitch and behind the scenes, with over £1bn spent on assembling a team with the youngest average age in the Premier League.