The countdown is on for the first domestic cup final of the year – Liverpool’s first opportunity to win silverware in what could be a very exciting 2022. The Reds take on Chelsea at Wembley in the EFL Cup Final this Sunday, going into the game with a packed squad of players in good form.
The one area of the pitch that has experienced injury worries recently is in attack. Both Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota are doubts for the game having sat out the previous two fixtures.
Goal.com’s Neil Jones is a regular at the AXA Training Centre and has spoken to Jurgen Klopp this week about Liverpool’s preparation for Sunday.
On the latest episode of our Journo Insight Show, we asked Neil for an injury update ahead of the big game.
Neil said:
“The mood I got from Jurgen was I would probably write Firmino out of it. He said he would be out a while. I don’t think he would say ‘a while’ without meaning more than a day. He said Jota was looking better than we feared. They’ll need to train. If they train at any point Friday/Saturday they will have half a chance. If they don’t, Liverpool aren’t in a position where: A) they need to risk it, and B) the player needs to risk it. You want to play in a cup final, of course you do, but do you want to be fit for Wembley for 20 minutes and then you miss the Champions League quarter final, you miss the title run in, you miss the FA Cup? There’s a lot of carrot there for these players beyond Sunday, and I don’t think Liverpool need to do anything rash.”
Redmen Reacts
The dual injuries to Jota and Bobby are a blow for Liverpool, as both of them have looked the part in the centre of the front three this season. Sadio Mane is used to playing on the left-hand side, but caused an admittedly struggling Leeds United side a lot of problems in the central striker role on Wednesday night.
As Neil says, there is no need to risk exacerbating any injury problems with a crucial three months of the season remaining. Luis Diaz looks electric down the left-hand side, and Jurgen can always ‘break glass in case of emergency’ by sending on Divock Origi.
If Jota can train at any point on Friday and prove his fitness then he could potentially be risked, but the Reds should have more than enough firepower without him to cause Thiago Silva and co. a serious headache on Sunday afternoon.
