SUNDAY’S EFL Cup final pits cup specialists Chelsea against the most impressive in-form team in the country, Liverpool.

Thomas Tuchel’s Blues are on a good run of form even if they have not always been convincing during it.

They are the newly crowned world champions having defeated Palmeiras in the Club World Cup final earlier this month and will be looking to add a second trophy in as many weeks.

Their only defeat in the last 19 games came at Manchester City in the Premier League, but they needed extra time to get past Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup and were unconvincing in their last-gasp 1-0 win against Crystal Palace in the league last weekend.

In his first season at Chelsea, Tuchel took the team to Champions League glory and to the FA Cup final which they lost to Leicester City. They have already won the Uefa Super Cup and Club World Cup this season.

The German has a considerable trophy haul in his short time at the club thanks to this cup success.

Like Liverpool, Chelsea remain in every cup competition they’ve entered this season. Unlike Liverpool, they have been unable to challenge City for the Premier League title despite boasting a strong squad, though they do sit fairly comfortably in third.

The Merseyside Reds have been flying in recent weeks. Earlier in February, they were as many as 12 points behind City. Winning their games in hand, while the defending champions lost to Spurs, has seen them close this gap to just three points.

After a 2020/21 season derailed by injuries to key players, Liverpool have found their rhythm once again. They even managed to cope without Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane when the pair were at the Africa Cup of Nations last month, with other players stepping up.

New signing Luis Diaz has hit the ground running and will be expected to start on Sunday as Roberto Firmino is out injured and Diogo Jota is still doubtful following a recent ankle problem.

He’s slotted seamlessly into the front three, with Mane filling in as the central forward and Salah doing his thing from the right.

Chelsea aren’t as well-oiled as Liverpool in attack and will be disappointed with their failure to challenge in the league given the strength of their squad.

They spent close to £100m on Romelu Lukaku but the striker still looks to be adapting to Tuchel’s system — with little indication the system will be adapted to suit him.

Signing a player for such a fee and bringing him into a different style to that in which he excelled at previous club Inter — one that prompted Chelsea to sanction a club-record transfer — appears, at this stage, to be a mistake.

That doesn’t mean the Belgian can’t make the difference in moments within games, and he could well start the final after sitting out the 2-0 against Lille in the Champions League last week.

Tuchel had praise for his three attackers after that win, and the German coach will no doubt be tempted to go for the front line of Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech once again.

“We had a very aggressive high line on the pitch with the offensive three players together,” he said of that line-up.

“The formation was to have intensity and a high work rate consistently throughout the whole match and they all did very well."

Goalkeepers will also play a key part in this game, especially as it could go to penalties, and this position is where the first big decision will be made in terms of team selection.

Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy and Alisson of Liverpool are among the best in the world between the posts, but Mendy has not played a minute of football in the domestic cups so far this season, while Alisson’s only appearance in these competitions came in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final.

Both clubs have used their backup stoppers throughout. Caoimhin Kelleher has impressed for Liverpool while Kepa has done well for the west Londoners when called upon.

Reds manager Jurgen Klopp has already confirmed 23-year-old Kelleher will retain his starting spot in this competition for the final.

The Irishman has shown he could easily do a job as a starting goalkeeper elsewhere and has a serious shout to be Ireland’s number one, so Liverpool have no qualms throwing him in for such games.

“Caoimhin is an exceptional goalkeeper and we want to keep him here and for that, he needs games,” Klopp said ahead of the final.

“These games are his competition, and there’s no chance of him not playing.

“It’s just a thing we have to do because of the quality Caoimhin has. We want to keep him as long as possible, knowing that, from our point of view, the best goalkeeper in the world [Alisson] is our number one.

“As always, if it works out, then it’s all about Caoimhin. If it doesn’t work out, then it’s all about me. It’s as easy as that, and I take it.”

It’s a big show of faith in the Cork man, but he has shown in previous games that he has the quality to step up as well as being good enough on the ball to fit Liverpool’s style.

Tuchel has not made a similar pre-match public show of faith in his backup keeper. “Kepa deserves it, but I can’t get sentimental about it,” he said on Friday.

Liverpool won the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020 but are yet to win a domestic cup competition under Klopp.

They lost to City in the final of this competition in February 2016, just months after Klopp had taken over, and this is their first since.

Tuchel, meanwhile, has already made a habit of reaching finals and will fancy his side against anyone in a one-off game. 

Though this is considered the least prestigious of the domestic trophies on offer, there is plenty at stake and plenty of potential storylines to look forward to on Sunday.