The ‘reds’ already won the League Cup final against the ‘blues’ in February
Chelsea arrives with the ‘thorn’ from the finals of the last two editions and they know that a victory would save their convulsive season
MADRID, 13 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Chelsea and Liverpool face each other again this Saturday (5:45 p.m.) with the FA Cup title at stake, in a duel in which the Londoners will want revenge after falling in the League Cup final a just three months, also against the ‘reds’, who are aiming for their second title of the season, immersed in the fight for the Premier League.
Wembley Stadium will be the scene of a new FA Cup final, 150 years after the first, and Liverpool and Chelsea as the main protagonists in English football this weekend, giving a break to the incessant fight they maintain the ‘reds’ with Manchester City for the domestic title.
Liverpool took out the ‘citizens’ by winning 3-2 in the semi-final, a triumph that allowed Klopp’s men to remain undefeated in domestic competitions this season, with 21 wins and 4 draws. Achieving this FA Cup would mean lifting the second title of the season and seeing trophy poker even closer this year, three points behind the leader in the Premier and in the final of the ‘Champions’ against Real Madrid.
In addition, it is the only title that the German coach is missing since he landed at the club in October 2015. In this Saturday’s final, Liverpool will also seek to equal Chelsea’s eight FA Cup titles, a team that has already beaten him ( 2-1) in the last final of this tournament between both teams in 2012.
Klopp’s team added a new victory on Sunday (1-2) against Aston Villa to link 15 games without losing. This Saturday he has the opportunity to continue expanding his season, in which he has bordered on perfection as far as the game is concerned, still with options for everything. In addition, a victory would give wings and confidence to the squad facing an end of the course in which the objectives are high-flying. The only casualty for the ‘reds’ will be that of Fabinho, between cottons thinking of Paris, with a Luis Díaz who will be the protagonist.
For its part, Chelsea eliminated Crystal Palace in the semifinals (2-0) to be at Wembley. He arrives consolidated in third place in the Premier, bordering on confirmation of his presence in the next ‘Champions’, after beating Leeds (0-3).
This will be the fourth final for Tuchel at the helm of the ‘blue’ bench, the third in the FA Cup, as Chelsea have been finalists in the last two editions, losing to Arsenal and Leicester. Thus, they face this Saturday’s duel with that double ‘thorn’ and with the need to shake off a convulsive season, marked by their institutional crisis.
The challenge for Tuchel’s men, who want to improve their record against Klopp (3 wins, 5 draws and 10 losses), will be to overcome Liverpool’s iron defense, which has kept a clean sheet 15 times in domestic competitions. Proof of the equality between both teams are the three consecutive draws they have achieved in direct confrontations.
The ‘blue’ coach has Chilwell, Hudson-Odoi and Kovacic out due to injury, while midfielder N’Golo Kante is doubtful.