Premier League Cup: Chelsea vs Liverpool
At 0:30 a.m. Beijing time on February 28, 2022, the final of the Premier League Cup is about to start, when the "Blues" Chelsea will face the "Reds" Liverpool. Chelsea's overall performance this season is stable, at the league end, after 25 rounds of matches, it has achieved 14 wins, 8 draws and 3 losses, ranking third in the league with 50 points, and the top manchester City is 16 points apart, which shows that the Blues are getting farther and farther away from the league championship; and in terms of cups, Chelsea can be said to be more and more courageous, winning the Club World Cup in mid-February, the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 knockouts, but also with a 2-0 seal against the opponent, occupying the promotion opportunity, it can be seen that the blues' strategic center of gravity has shifted the trend of cup matches.
Chelsea have been in relatively stable form recently, having been unbeaten in 7 consecutive games in all competitions, especially in the last two games, the team has continuously "0" to seal opponents, and the performance of both offensive and defensive ends is becoming more and more perfect. Recently, the likes of Havertz, Pulisic and Ziyech have all performed well. According to the latest news, Blues defender Christensen missed the Premier League Cup final roster due to injury, and coach Tuchel intends to replace Reece James in his place. In addition, Kovacic, Chilwell and Hudson-Odoi were also injured, and they were afraid that they would not be able to participate in the battle.
Liverpool have performed very well this season, after 26 rounds of the Premier League, they have achieved 18 wins, 6 draws and 2 losses, ranking second in the league with 60 points, and in the case of one less game, they are 6 points behind the top manchester City, which shows that the Reds still have the opportunity to compete for the league title. In the European competition, Liverpool showed even more courage, in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 knockout rounds, away to Serie A giants Inter Milan 2-0, occupying the opportunity to advance.
Since Entering 2022, Liverpool have been unbeaten in 12 consecutive matches in all competitions and have won 9 consecutive wins, and the Current state of the Reds can be said to be in the sky. The team's home game against Leeds United in the last round of the league, with Mane's hat-trick, Salah's double score, coupled with Van Dijk's stoppage time kill, finally swept the opponent 6-0, showing that Liverpool's forward combination is still sharp. In terms of lineup, Firmino and Jota are injured and may miss the red-and-blue battle.
In terms of past encounters between the two teams, the two sides have had nearly 10 "red and blue wars", Chelsea has achieved 2 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses, the past performance is not dominant, and the two meetings in the league this season, both sides have ended in a draw. In terms of recent developments, the recent results of both teams have been very stable, Chelsea due to the slim chances of winning the league title, the current strategic focus is more inclined to compete with the cup, while Liverpool are multi-line, but the team has been very strong, especially in the last 2 games, the attacking end scored 9 goals. Judging from the current attitude of all parties, it is very cautious, combined with the nature of the final, both sides may adopt certain conservative tactics in the conventional time, this battle does not rule out entering extra time or penalty shootout, but in the current state of both sides, Liverpool's chances of winning the cup are probably greater than Chelsea.