25 January 2024 , 20:54
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The Carabao Cup final could be brought forward amid fears that Chelsea and Liverpool fans could clash in the build-up to next month's match at Wembley.
Chelsea booked their spot in the showpiece final earlier this week after thrashing Middlesbrough 6-2 on aggregate and Liverpool confirmed their place at Wembley by beating Premier League rivals Fulham 3-2 over two legs.
There is no love lost between the fans of the two clubs and it has now emerged that the Metropolitan Police have requested that the match, which was scheduled to kick off at 4:30pm on February 25, should begin no later than 3pm.
That's according to a new report from The Mail, who outline that the Met have deemed the meeting between Chelsea and the Reds as a high-risk fixture.
Although the EFL were initially pushing for the fixture to remain a 4:30pm kick-off due to their contract with Sky Sports, it is understood that a compromise is likely to be reached, meaning the match will be brought forward.
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Last year's FA Cup final, contested between Manchester City and Manchester United, was brought forward from 5:30pm to 3pm following police advice.
Jurgen Klopp said he was "very pleased" after Liverpool secured their place at Wembley on Wednesday night following a tense finale to a match which ended 1-1 on the night at Craven Cottage.
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Liverpool booked their spot in the Carabao Cup final on Wednesday night (PA)"Getting the draw, Fulham, you just have to look at where we played first. I would think everybody would say they would prefer the second game at home, but we play our home game first and we win 2-1 and we are all long enough in the business to really know that nothing [was decided].
"Half-time, all good. You would expect that Fulham comes here today flying out of the blocks. I liked our first 30 minutes, really a lot. We were just ready for this game, that's the most important thing. I heard Marco's press conference yesterday and I love it. I respect him so much, that's why I had a look at it: when you see [he said] it is the most important game, maybe of the season, and stuff like this.
"They want to go for the final and all these kind of things and I know what it means to them. I told the boys I know what it means to us, but we have to show it to the outside world, that we want it as much as they want it. I saw that."