Paul Merson says Liverpool’s injuries will decide Chelsea’s fate at Wembley as he backs the Blues to win the midfield battle now that Curtis Jones is not at Liverpool. Watch the Carabao Cup Final live on Sky Sports Main Event from 2pm on Sunday.Kickoff at 3pm
In his latest column, Sky Sports’ Paul Merson explains why Enzo Fernandes needs to play like Jorginho if Chelsea are to beat Liverpool in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.
“Liverpool’s injury will be decisive in the Carabao Cup final”
“I’m more confident in Chelsea’s chances than I was after the 4-1 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield in January.
“It all depends on who is suitable for Liverpool. If Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez are suitable, it’s a different story. If they are not, then the football game will not be on display. I think it will be the other way around.”
“But if they don’t play, it’s a funny old game, football. Three or four weeks ago, you would have thought Chelsea didn’t have much of a chance after losing badly at Anfield.
“Now all of a sudden Chelsea are playing half-decent at the right times. They played well in the second half against Palace and the other day against Man City. I think they’re playing well, just making good plays at the right times.”It’s a good balance.
“Curtis Jones is not in good condition at the moment. I think Chelsea will win in the midfield battle.”
“Chelsea need Enzo to play like Jorginho”
“The draw against Man City last weekend was in Chelsea’s favor. You know they’re going to leave gaps at the back. There’s always a chance against them. If they make the right pass on the counter If you choose , you’ll turn them around in a big way.” Problem.
“I don’t think it will be the case against Liverpool, they will be more astute against Chelsea’s counter-attacks.
“Chelsea have to beat Liverpool’s press. Arsenal won a number of games against the Emirates last week with Jorginho in the team.
“I don’t know if they have a Jorginho in their team. They have Enzo Fernandes. If he can play like Jorginho did that day at Arsenal, it will give Chelsea an advantage.”
The importance of trophies for Poch and Klopp
“Winning the Carabao Cup would give Mauricio Pochettino 100 per cent victory over the Chelsea fans.
“Chelsea have only won three games going into the season: the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Premier League. We can win.’ First of all, there aren’t that many teams that can win trophies this season.
“We’re angry at Tottenham and how well they played, but Chelsea may go on to win trophies, but Spurs won’t win anything.
“If you win a trophy, who’s to say anything? You can’t challenge the person who won the trophy.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he has plenty of experience of losing in finals and that in many other sports second place is praised.
“It’s very important to win this. It’s a great trophy. I don’t think there’s a footballer who will watch it on Sunday and not wish he had played in the final.”
“For the coach, a final in February is perfect. It gives you confidence. It takes the pressure off.
“Liverpool can still aim for a quadruple title, but if Chelsea win, they will win one of only three trophies they could have won, which is very important for both clubs. ”
“Manager Jurgen Klopp will want to win something before he leaves and he’s giving everything at the moment. But we’ve seen how quickly football changes and we’ve had some results here and there. I know that after that, everything will be gone.”
“Ratcliffe must pay whatever it takes to get Ashworth.”
“He talks about knocking Man City and Liverpool off their feet, but what about Arsenal, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Chelsea? They’re all getting better.
“Man City are the team, I understand that, but you still have to look at other teams.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has outlined plans for Manchester United’s future after his minority stake was approved
“It’s going to be difficult. They have to get Dan Ashworth and they have to start from the bottom. Their recruitment is not good enough.
“Anthony isn’t worth £86m, but Jadon Sancho is worth £73m and he’s out on loan. Who knows if he’ll get the right people? That. We must be careful how quickly
“How much would you pay Ashworth? He’s the future, so you can pay whatever you want in my opinion. He’s a deal.
“You have to start at the bottom. You can’t build a house on water or puddles. You have to lay concrete. Ashworth, I know he needs people around him, but he will bring them together.” And then you start recruiting the right people.
Gary Neville assesses how valuable Dan Ashworth is to Manchester United
“I don’t mean to disrespect Sancho and Anthony, but you can’t just keep throwing away £160m comfortably. It’s mean and you can’t stand around like that. Ashworth’s contract, which he has managed at Newcastle. Many of them could play for Manchester United. ”
“The next five matches will be important for the title fight.”
“If you look at Arsenal’s game, they’re not far off with eight games left. There are mainly winnable games coming up. But if I had to tip my hat to anyone, it would be Man City.
“Kevin De Bruyne didn’t play recently and Jack Grealish is also out injured. Arsenal will have to deal with a few weeks of injury to Bukayo Saka and rest Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice. I couldn’t. That’s where it takes a toll.”
“I was impressed with Liverpool against Luton with all the injuries. They were one goal down at half-time and they attacked hard. I have to keep going.”
“If Man City win their next five league games, I would be shocked if they don’t win the Premier League. That means winning at Liverpool and beating Man United and Brighton. have some difficult games, so I expect them to win the Premier League if they win them.
“But if you were Arsenal, you looked at the way they played against Man City and you would be very disappointed if you weren’t above them in the table after the next five games.
“It’s really balanced. Big times ahead. It can’t get any better.”
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