CHELSEA CUP FACTS

Chelsea have won four of their last seven EFL Cup matches against Liverpool, drawing two and losing one. The most recent meeting saw the Blues lose a penalty shootout 11-10 following a goalless draw in the 2022 final.

Chelsea feature in their 10th EFL Cup final. The Blues have won five and lost four of their previous nine, losing each of the last two via a penalty shootout following a 0-0 draw (v Man City 2019 and Liverpool 2022).

Chelsea have lost each of their last five major domestic cup finals – the FA Cup in 2020, 2021 and 2022, and the EFL Cup in 2019 and 2022. No side has ever lost six such finals in a row before.

Chelsea have scored 12 goals in this season’s EFL Cup, last netting more in a single campaign in 2012/13 (16). Their eight different goalscorers in this season’s competition (excluding own goals) is their most since 2014/15 (9), the last time they won the trophy.

This is Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino’s second major domestic cup final in charge of a Premier League side, with his Tottenham team losing 2-0 to Chelsea in this competition in 2015. He’s set to become the third manager to take charge of an EFL Cup final both for and against the same side, after Ron Saunders (for Norwich in 1973, against them in 1975) and Ron Atkinson (for Manchester United in 1983, against them in 1991 and 1994).

Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling could feature in his fifth EFL Cup final, winning the trophy with Manchester City in 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2021. He would be the 12th player to have played in as many as five finals.