24 February 2024 , 05:00
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It's the eve of the Carabao Cup final and Liverpool's preparations are well underway.
The Reds play to lift the first trophy of this season as Jurgen Klopp looks to sign off from life at Liverpool in style. His side remain in contention for a quadruple and, having beat Luton earlier this week, will remain top of the Premier League table when their attention is elsewhere this weekend.
The German coach and his staff will nervously wait for injury updates on the likes of Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez in anticipation of the Wembley clash. Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota have already been ruled out.
Regardless, Liverpool will head to Sunday's fixture looking for a fourth final win in a row against the Blues having dispatched Chelsea in their most recent FA Cup, Carabao Cup and UEFA Super Cup final meetings. Mirror Football rounds up the latest Liverpool news in the build-up to the clash.
Liverpool avoid nightmare scenario
While Friday would have been spent making preparations to face Chelsea, some eyes on Merseyside would have been on the Europa League draw. The Reds face Sparta Praha over two legs in March having qualified for the round of 16 as a seeded team.
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Klopp's men missed out on possible meetings with the likes of AC Milan, Roma and Benfica and were unable to face Villarreal, Bayern Leverkusen or other sides not involved in the play-off round. In truth, Liverpool probably got one of their favoured draws.
Many might point to Qarabag as an option that may have been appealing. However, the away leg of the last 16 has been placed directly ahead of Liverpool's meeting with Man City.
Dublin's Aviva Stadium will host the UEFA Europa League Final (Karl Bridgeman - UEFA)The travel involved in heading into Asia to face the Azerbaijan side would have meant a journey that was two-and-a-half times longer than the flight required to reach Prague. That certainly could have put some pressure on what is currently a thin squad.
Promising signs
Pep Lijnders revealed there was still uncertainty around whether Salah, Nunez and Domink Szoboszlai would be able to feature at Wembley.
Speaking at Liverpool's pre-match press conference, he said: "Dom, Darwin and Mo, we will see. We have two more sessions, two days. We will check if they can be there."
Things may be looking promising for Liverpool's attacking duo as they were spotted at the club's AXA training ground on Friday. The pair have provided more goal contributions than the rest of their teammates and were in training gear as Liverpool released footage of players arriving to prepare. Their presence is not guaranteed but it feels a step in the right direction.
Lijnders future
While there was no shortage of talk about the Carabao Cup final, the Dutch coach also had some attention placed on his future. The 41-year-old is set to depart Anfield with Klopp this summer as he looks towards his own managerial aspirations.
Lijnders has turned down opportunities in the past to remain at the club but did not see his future beyond the summer. "Nobody will replace Jurgen,” he said. “I was clear, to be honest, when we had the talk a long time ago – for me it was clear and it made it easier for me.
“We knew in the summer, ‘OK we are going towards the end of this project’. It's too much about me...we play in a final in 48 hours. I understand, so I think I have given answers in interviews.
“I always got offers and my heart says yes, but my loyalty to Mike [Gordon] and Jurgen said no. So we agreed to finish this project together and it is the right way to do it. They will find a new coach with ideas and I am excited to manage to find the right club. But until the last final of the season, I am focused on Liverpool and that is why we have agents, no?"
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