Carabao Cup final: Tuchel determined to stop Liverpool's 9th title chase

By Steve Omola

Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel will today, at the Wembley Stadium, renew hostilities as Liverpool manager aims at winning a record-breaking ninth EFL Cup crown.

The Reds overcame Arsenal over two legs in the semi-final to book their Wembley ticket, while Thomas Tuchel's side ended Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of glory in the final four.

And with the Premier League title slipping further and further away from Thomas Tuchel's men, a domestic and continental treble is still on the cards.and a six-game winning run in all tournaments sets the Blues up nicely for a February Wembley showdown.

Chelsea's defensive solidity came to the fore as they sunk former manager Antonio Conte and his Tottenham side 3-0 over two legs in the semi-finals, and they were forced to rely on similar staunch rearguard action to overcome Lille 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 battle in midweek.

On the other hand, A six-game winning streak is nothing to be sniffed at by any means, but Jurgen Klopp's rampant Liverpool had a different number six in mind when Leeds United paid a visit to the Anfield fortress, as Marcelo Bielsa's side capitulated on the Merseyside turf.

Mohamed Salah's brace, Sadio Mane's double, Joel Matip's mazy run and finish and Virgil van Dijk's bullet header moved Liverpool to within touching distance of Premier League leaders Manchester City, and hopes of an unprecedented quadruple are still very much alive.

Both Premier League fixtures between Chelsea and Liverpool this term ended with the spoils shared, and the two sides have met once before in the EFL Cup final, where Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman contributed to a 3-2 Chelsea win after extra time in the 2004-05 edition.