Chelsea vs Liverpool live updates: Carabao Cup final confirmed ...

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Chelsea have lost each of their last five major domestic cup finals:

Another loss today would set a new record for consecutive defeats in domestic finals.

You could form the backbone of a really strong team with the players Liverpool are missing through injury.

Alisson in goal, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joel Matip in defence, Thiago, Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai in midfield, Diogo Jota and Ben Doak in attack...

Can Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp turn another dream into reality today?

Only 45 minutes away from kick-off and finding out.

... getting ready for punditry duties for today's game.

Don't forget, Joe Cole played for Liverpool as well as Chelsea.

It's such a young, inexperienced bench for Liverpool today.

At the age of 21, defender Jarell Quansah is the third oldest outfield substitute.

Five teenagers are alongside him.

Liverpool’s substitutions have been a key part of their success this season — accounting for 39 goal involvements (goals and assists) in all competitions.

In their biggest game of the season so far, you’d have to say that their bench is the weakest it has been for a long time.

In Ryan Gravenberch (21), Conor Bradley (20), and Harvey Elliott (20), Liverpool are starting three players aged 21 or younger in a major final for the very first time in the club's history.

Thanks to our friends at Opta for that statistic.

So Mauricio Pochettino starts with the same team that impressed at Manchester City last week. It is the right call.

Thiago Silva did not recover from a groin injury in time to feature in the squad. You have to feel sorry for the veteran defender, who has possibly missed out on his last chance to play at Wembley.

The 39-year-old is expected to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season. His last opportunity will be in the FA Cup and Chelsea play a fifth-round tie at home against Leeds on Wednesday night.

No real surprises with the Liverpool line up as Salah, Nunez or Szoboszlai all miss out due to injury.

That's 11 members of the senior squad absent. It wouldn't have made any sense to take risks today given what Liverpool are competing for this season.

Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson are in for Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah in defence.

It's a very young bench.

Liverpool XI to face Chelsea (4-3-3): Kelleher; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Endo, Mac Allister; Elliot, Gakpo, Diaz.

Substitutes: Adrian; Gomez, Tsimikas, Quansah, McConnell, Clark, Nyoni, Danns, Koumas.

Jurgen Klopp makes two changes from his previous line-up, replacing Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah with Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate.

Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai are all absent.

Mauricio Pochettino has gone with exactly the same starting XI that secured a 1-1 draw against Manchester City last time out.

They line up as follows.

Chelsea XI to face Liverpool (4-1-4-1): Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Colwill, Chilwell; Palmer, Caicedo, Fernandez, Sterling; Gallagher; Jackson.

Substitutes: Sanchez, Bettinelli; Chalobah, Gilchrist, Gee, Tauriainen, Madueke, Mudryk, Nkunku.

As well as this cup final live blog, The Athletic are also running a general football news live blog here.

There, you can follow the latest news from the Premier League, MLS, across Europe and beyond.

It's being run by the brilliant Ben Burrows.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is chatting to former England striker Daniel Sturridge at the side of the Wembley pitch wearing a lanyard.

Not exactly suggesting he's going to play...

Around five minutes until the line-ups are revealed.

Who can Jurgen Klopp nurse back to fitness in time for the final?

Who will Chelsea play up front?

Stick around and find out...

Malo Gusto is feeling the responsibility more than most of restoring Chelsea to the status of regular trophy winners.

His father, Philippe, is a fan of the club and that allegiance inevitably rubbed off on young Malo. Gusto, 20, remembers Didier Drogba in his pomp. The Frenchman recalls with fondness seeing the club lift the Champions League for a second time in 2021.

So you can imagine the excitement in the Gusto clan when Chelsea agreed to pay France’s Lyon €30million (£25.7m/$32.4m at current exchange rates), plus potential add-ons, for the right-back in January last year.

“My family are very proud,” says Gusto, who spent the remainder of that season on loan back with Lyon before moving to England in the summer. “But when you sign for this team, you have to improve, to work more every day. That’s what I try to do.”

Read more below!

GO FURTHER

Malo Gusto: ‘Pochettino knows he has to wake up our mentality. We are Chelsea. We have to win’

Veteran defender Thiago Silva, who has made 29 appearances in all competitions this season, is absent from the matchday squad.

Silva had been struggling with a groin problem.