Carabao Cup final lineups, starting 11, team news for Chelsea vs Liverpool EFL Cup title match: No Salah, Nunez

Brad Cox

Carabao Cup final lineups, starting 11, team news for Chelsea vs Liverpool EFL Cup title match: No Salah, Nunez image

Chelsea and Liverpool come together once again at Wembley Stadium on February 25. This time, they face off in the Carabao Cup final. 

Jurgen Klopp's Reds met Chelsea twice at the 'The Home of Football' in major domestic finals in 2022. Liverpool came out on top in the EFL Cup final after a thrilling penalty shootout ended 11-10 following a goalless draw. Then, in the FA Cup, another shootout went the way of the Merseysiders after the game finished 0-0 again.

Wembley can be considered a former home to Mauricio Pochettino as he managed Tottenham Hotspur there during the 2017/18 season, as the North London side had their new stadium built. On his return, he will have the chance to win a trophy in English football for the first time, having been a beaten finalist in this competition with Spurs in 2015.

The EFL Cup, known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is generally considered the lesser of English football's major three trophies (the others being the Premier League and FA Cup), but it still represents an important piece of silverware.

The Sporting News takes a look at the injury news ahead of the match and who could be selected in the starting XIs for the final, with Liverpool in particular suffering from a recent injury crisis.

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Carabao Cup final lineups, starting 11, team news

For Chelsea, Wes Fofana, Reece James and Marc Cucurella miss out as they deal with long-term injury setbacks.

Pochettino decided against restoring fit-again Robert Sanchez to the lineup, with Djordje Petkovic retained after impressing between the posts since the Spaniard's injury.

Thiago Silva is not even in the matchday squad.

Chelsea lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Petrovic (GK) — Gusto, Disasi, Colwill, Chilwell — Fernandez, Caicedo — Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling — Jackson.

Liverpool's injury crisis has become a real issue in recent weeks and they're without a host of first-team stars, including forwards Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez.

Alisson Becker, Joel Matip, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo JotaDominik Szoboszlai, and Curtis Jones are also absent.

Liverpool lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Kelleher (GK) — Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson — Mac Allister, Endo, Gravenberch — Elliott, Gakpo, Diaz.

Chelsea vs Liverpool kickoff time

This Carabao Cup final clash takes place at Wembley Stadium in London, UK and kicks off on Sunday, February 25 at 3:00 p.m. local time.

Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories:

  Date Kickoff time
USA Sat, Feb. 17 10:00 a.m. ET
Canada Sat, Feb. 17 10:00 a.m. ET
UK Sat, Feb. 17 3:00 p.m. GMT
Australia Sun, Feb. 18 2:00 a.m. AEDT
India Sat, Feb. 17 8:30 p.m. IST

Chelsea vs Liverpool live stream, TV channel

Here's how to watch this final across selected areas of the world's major regions:

Region TV Streaming
USA ESPN+
Canada

DAZN

UK Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football Sky GO, Now TV
Australia beIN SPORTS 3 beIN SPORTS Connect
India Fancode

Brad Cox

Brad Cox Photo

Brad is a content producer for The Sporting News and has previously worked for the likes of Squawka and The Athletic. His career highlight to date is reporting from the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final in Paris.