Liverpool’s quadruple at stake
LONDON. — Liverpool will bid to keep their quadruple chase alive in today’s FA Cup football final against a Chelsea side hoping to welcome incoming owner Todd Boehly with victory at Wembley.
The match kicks-off at 5:45pm. Jurgen Klopp’s men have four matches left in their historic attempt to become the first English team to win all four major trophies in one season.
They beat Chelsea to lift the League Cup in February and have reached the finals of the FA Cup and Champions League, where they face Real Madrid on May 28.
No English club has come this close to such an incredible clean sweep, but Liverpool know their hopes of winning the Premier League are starting to fade.
Manchester City moved three points clear of the second-placed Reds with a 5-1 win at Wolves on Wednesday and need four points from their last two games against West Ham and Aston Villa to retain the crown.
If a second English title in three seasons proves beyond Liverpool despite their blistering form in the second half of the season, then winning two more cup competitions would be a memorable consolation.
First up is a rematch with Chelsea, who fought gamely in an intense League Cup final in February before Liverpool prevailed 11-10 in the shoot-out that followed a 0-0 draw. Liverpool and Chelsea are the first English teams to meet in both domestic finals in the same year since Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday in 1993.
Klopp’s side will hope they emulate Arsenal, who did the cup double against Wednesday that season.
But, in their 60th game this season, fatigue could be a threat to Liverpool’s hopes of a first FA Cup triumph since 2006.
In a bid to keep his stars fresh, Klopp made several changes in Tuesday’s win at Villa, yet still lost Brazil midfielder Fabinho to an injury that rules him out of the final.
The history chasers will be back on league duty at Southampton on Tuesday and, aware of the strain on the squad, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson called for one last push, starting at Wembley. — AFP.