We are the capital’s original winners of the League Cup in 1964/65 and its most recent in 2014/15. This is Chelsea’s 10th League Cup final and Liverpool’s 14th.

After Jose Mourinho’s shush and Kepa Arrizabalaga’s miss comes this unprecedented third clash between the same two titans, aiming again to complete England’s fastest route to major silverware success.

It is the first fixture in English football history to have been played in five major domestic finals. But now a novice Blues squad hungry for their first silverware squares up to Jurgen Klopp’s seasoned trophy-winners.

This is Chelsea’s 28th appearance under the arch of the new Wembley and Liverpool’s 11th.

The Londoners lost out to the Merseysiders after penalty shootouts in both domestic trophies in 2021/22. Revenge for those narrow defeats, and the more recent 4-1 loss at Anfield, might not be served cold as recommended, but will be welcome if dished up this weekend.

The league leaders pose similar threats to Manchester City, against whom Chelsea showed boldness, quality and desire last weekend. Sunday offers the chance to prove that Etihad performance was a standard set, not just a memory banked.

Route to the final

Chelsea

Second round - Chelsea 2-1 AFC Wimbledon
Third round - Chelsea 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Fourth round - Chelsea 2-0 Blackburn Rovers
Quarter-finals - Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle United (5-3 pens)
Semi-finals first leg - Middlesbrough 1-0 Chelsea
Semi-finals second leg - Chelsea 6-1 Middlesbrough (6-2 agg)

Liverpool

Third round - Liverpool 3-1 Leicester City
Fourth round - Bournemouth 1-2 Liverpool
Quarter-finals - Liverpool 5-1 West Ham United
Semi-finals first leg - Liverpool 2-1 Fulham
Semi-finals second leg - Fulham 1-1 Liverpool (3-2 agg)

Chelsea team news

‘For the final we need to approach the game in a different way,’ Mauricio Pochettino admitted in the aftermath of our recent 4-1 humbling at Anfield.

Could he take a leaf out of Arsenal’s book? The Gunners and Liverpool played each other twice in a month, and the Gunners avenged defeat with a fresh plan the second time around.

Both teams were wary after the first game and protected their flanks, but while Arsenal’s wingers stayed wide compared to the first encounter, false nine Kai Havertz dropped into midfield, leaving Liverpool’s centre-backs to go looking for someone to mark.

This made them vulnerable to simple through-passes to runners from deep and a 2-0 win in the FA Cup became a 3-1 defeat in the Premier League. Chelsea successfully operated a similar system, with added pressing, at the Etihad Stadium last week.

To claim the famous tri-handled trophy for the first time since 2015, Chelsea will have to battle and express themselves in the same fashion as that and the previous two much-improved performances, wins at Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.

Cole Palmer, named Player of the Round for the semis, has netted against four of our five rivals in the so-called ‘big six’ – Arsenal, Tottenham and both Manchester clubs – and will now hope to complete the set in a remarkable debut season.

This season’s 12 goals in the floodlit competition is Chelsea’s best haul since 16 in 2012/13. As usual, drawing first blood could be vital. Liverpool have not lost domestically when scoring the first goal, while Chelsea have lost only once.

Carabao Cup goal contributions 2023/24

Opposition scout – Liverpool

Mauricio Pochettino will not want a repeat of the recent loss at Anfield when Liverpool outflanked his side.

The Blues did not operate the usual front pressing, leaving Virgil van Dijk unharrassed to play long and release the troublesome Darwin Nunez.

Left-back Joe Gomez slipped inside to bolster midfield and release Curtis Jones to advance left, overloading the right of Chelsea’s defence. On the other flank, Ben Chilwell was sometimes left two-on-one and, when he chose to track goal threat Diogo Jota inside, right-back Conor Bradley exploited the gap.

However, it will be a less experienced Merseyside squad for Sunday’s final. Several first-choices will miss out, including vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold, midfielders Jones, Thiago Alcantara and Dominik Szoboszlai, marksman Jota and centre-back Joel Matip. Talismanic winger Mohamed Salah and hard-working frontman Darwin Nunez are slight doubts.

Caoimhin Kelleher has been standing in for the injured Alisson Becker and, despite an error at Luton, was always likely to play this weekend. He scored what proved the penalty shootout winner in 2022.

Chelsea vs Liverpool – The League Cup history

Chelsea have beaten Liverpool twice in domestic cup finals and lost twice – each after a penalty shootout. Two came in the League Cup and success was evenly split. On 27 February 2005, the showdown under the closed roof of the Millennium Stadium brought Chelsea's first silverware of this century.

Rafael Benitez's Reds led through an early John Arne Riise shot until Steven Gerrard diverted into his own net for the Blues, prompting Jose Mourinho’s famous shushing gesture towards opposition fans. Extra-time goals from Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman, with Antonio Nunez replying for the Reds, sealed the Blues’ success.

Of Chelsea’s 20-man squad for the Carabao Cup final on the same date in 2022, only Trevoh Chalobah and Thiago Silva are available to play again this weekend. The Londoners created the better chances and hit the post through Mason Mount, while having two goals ruled out for offside in extra time, but the game ended 0-0. The resulting shootout involved every player left on the pitch, Kepa’s miss after 21 successes deciding the trophy’s destination.

Chelsea vs Liverpool in domestic cup finals

2005 League Cup - Chelsea 1-1 (3-2 aet) Liverpool
2012 FA Cup - Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool
2022 League Cup - Liverpool 0-0 (11-10 pens) Chelsea
2022 FA Cup - Liverpool 0-0 (6-5 pens) Chelsea

Carabao Cup final regulations

The referee for the final is Chris Kavanagh and the VAR system will be in operation for the first time in this season’s competition, overseen by John Brooks. Five substitutes are permitted during normal time plus a sixth should extra time be played.

If the scores are level at the end of second-half stoppage time, a further half-hour will be played followed, if necessary, by a penalty shootout.

Should this game go all the way, Chelsea can draw confidence from the shoot-out win over Newcastle earlier in this season's competition, when we scored all four of our spot-kicks before Djordje Petrovic's winning save to deny Matt Ritchie.

Chelsea's League Cup penalty shootouts

2023/24 quarter-finals - won 4-2 v Newcastle United
2021/22 final - lost 11-10 v Liverpool
2021/22 fourth round - won 4-3 v Southampton
2021/22 third round - won 4-3 v Aston Villa
2020/21 fourth round - lost 5-4 v Tottenham Hotspur
2018/19 final - lost 4-3 v Manchester City
2018/19 semi-final - won 4-2 v Tottenham Hotspur
2015/16 fourth round - lost 5-4 v Stoke City
2011/12 third round - won 4-3 v Fulham
2009/10 quarter-finals - lost 4-3 v Blackburn Rovers
2008/09 fourth round - lost 5-4 v Burnley
1983/84 second round - won 4-3 v Leicester City