Three factors that promise to decide the Liverpool

The roles of Chelsea's Raheem Sterling and Liverpool's Wataru Endo could decide the outcome of today's League Cup final at Wembley.

Liverpool's attacking trio

Liverpool lost a series of key players before the League Cup final, when Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara, Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota are definitely absent due to injury, while Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai are doubtful to play.

Jota's absence is a big blow to Liverpool's attack. When playing, the Portuguese striker has the ability to play wide and link up with midfielders, similar to the style of Roberto Firmino - who left the team to join Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League.

Jota dropped deep, creating space for Gakpo to run forward and open up an opportunity in Liverpool's 1-3 loss to Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in the Premier League on February 4. Screenshot — Jota dropped deep, creating space for Gakpo to run forward and open up an opportunity in Liverpool's 1-3 loss to Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in the Premier League on February 4. *Screenshot*

Darwin Nunez playing as a centre-forward, if fit, would give Liverpool a completely different look. The Uruguayan rarely drops as deep as Jota and often runs in behind the opposition defence to exploit space. This means there is less space in the middle for Liverpool’s wingers to attack.

On the two wings, it will likely be Luis Diaz and Salah. Diaz can press closer to the penalty area, leaving space on the left wing for Andy Robertson to run up, while Salah will still play freely on the opposite wing.

If Salah and Nunez do not recover in time, coach Jurgen Klopp has other solutions in Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott. But according to British newspaper Sunsport , no matter which attacking trio is on the field, Liverpool will still be very dangerous and are rated higher than Chelsea.

The role of Raheem Sterling

In the 1-1 draw at Man City in the Premier League a week ago, Sterling opened the scoring and posed a constant threat down the left flank. As usual, Man City dominated possession for the entire 90 minutes but were vulnerable on the counter-attack, with Sterling’s key movement helping Chelsea exploit the space.

A similar scenario could play out at Wembley today, with Liverpool dominating possession. When attacking, Klopp's side often push their line up high to overwhelm their numbers.

Chelsea counterattacked effectively with two strikers Jackson and Sterling in the 1-1 draw with Man City in the Premier League in mid-February.

This opens up counter-attacking opportunities for Chelsea, and Sterling's pace and movement will once again be key to helping them capitalise on these transitions.

Klopp is likely to continue to play Conor Bradley at right-back in place of Alexander-Arnold. Although he has impressed since breaking into the first team, Bradley still lacks experience defending against top attackers, especially in big games.

According to Sunsport , Mauricio Pochettino will again put Sterling on the left wing to exploit this link. At that time, the English player will be arranged to move up, not participating much in defensive duties to wait for counter-attack opportunities.

Battle in midfield

In theory, both teams are likely to line up in a 4-3-3, although Chelsea could switch to a 4-2-3-1 at any time. And in a high-profile game, the battle for dominance in midfield could be key.

Szoboszlai and Jones' absences are big losses as Liverpool's midfield has to deal with Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caiciedo and Conor Gallagher - Chelsea's trio is gradually stabilizing and getting along better. With Fernandez and Gallagher, "The Blues" have started to have a more direct and aggressive approach both in and out of possession from midfield.

Wataru Endo will then play a key role in the heart of Liverpool's midfield. The Japan international has far exceeded expectations in replacing Fabinho, breaking up opposition attacks and calmly moving the ball around. With Alexis MacAllister and possibly Ryan Gravenberch playing further forward, Endo must act as the link between defence and attack for Liverpool.

Endo, playing just in front of Liverpool's centre-backs, played a crucial role in the transition from defence to attack. Screenshot — Endo, playing just in front of Liverpool's centre-backs, played a crucial role in the transition from defence to attack. *Screenshot*

"Finals are always very unpredictable because Premier League form has no influence. Today's match is even more unpredictable with Liverpool's injury problems," Sunsport commented, but still rated Klopp's team higher.

Hong Duy

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