The day is here at last. Liverpool are back in the capital. They’re back in Wembley. And there an opportunity for more silverware being up for grabs in Jurgen Klopp’s final season at the club.
Standing in the Reds’ way is Chelsea. An opponent that is unpredictable. Mauricio Pochettino’s side haven’t been playing extraordinarily well all season. They’ve suffered from injuries and a major squad overhaul, which means they haven’t gelled together. Their performances have ebbed and flowed as a result – like the oceans tides.
But recently they have caused problems even for the likes of Manchester City. Which means this game is not going to be a walkover for Liverpool. Especially with the amount of players who are missing from Jurgen Klopp’s disposal.
One player who is expected to start is Ibrahima Konate, and he could be the key in minimising the player who could be Chelsea’s most dangerous threat.
Ibrahima Konate set to face old teammate
Without a shadow of a doubt, Chelsea’s biggest threat today will be Christopher Nkunku, who is finally back fit after joining the club injured. Nkunku has featured in Chelsea’s last few games and Pochettino has slowly eased him back into action.
Already he has scored two goals for the club in two starts in the Premier League. He is a lively threat who showed at RB Leipzig just how dangerous he can be. Nkunku is capable of causing problems to any defender in world football and he’s very good at exploiting spaces behind defences. He’s also got the technical ability to excel in one vs one situations.
However, fortunately for Liverpool Konate is someone who will know Nkunku very well. Not only did he face him time and time again in training while being teammates at RB Leipzig, but they’ve also encountered each other in the French national team. And Konate has even faced Nkunku in the past in a pre-season friendly while playing for Liverpool against Leipzig.
All of those experiences should give Konate the edge to be able to minimise Nkunku’s impact. And little fine details like that could go a long way into making sure Liverpool lift the trophy at the end of today.
