Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech of Chelsea might not be available for the 2022 Carabao Cup final clash with Liverpool at the Wembley Stadium on Sunday, February 27, 2022.
On the said date, Liverpool would hope to win their first title of the 2021-2022 season when they confront Chelsea which were crowned champions of the FIFA Club World Cup earlier in February.
Before the game, Chelsea played a UEFA Champions League round 16 first leg match against Lille at Stamford Bridge which left the club with two major injury worries.
During the Champions League game, coach Thomas Tuchel was left with no choice but to substitute Mateo Kovacic for Loftus-Cheek in the 51st minute due to fitness issues.
At the point the injury forced Kovacic out of the game, Chelsea were leading the reigning French champions 1-0 thanks to an 8th-minute goal from Kai Havertz.
In the 60th minute, coach Thomas Tuchel was forced to substitute Hakim Ziyech for Saul due to fitness issues. Three minutes after, Christian Pulisic scored Chelsea’s second goal of the match.
After the Champions League round of 16 first leg games that ended 2-0 in favor of Chelsea, coach Tuchel confirmed that Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech might be in doubt for the 2022 Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
While regretting that he should have substituted Kovacic before the kick-off of the second half, coach Tuchel expressed the hope that the two players could have recovered before the Carabao Cup final.
“I should have subbed Mateo at half-time”, coach Tuchel told BT Sport after the 2-0 win over Lille. “I have not spoken to the doctor about Hakim and hope it is not serious. Today is Tuesday, there are a lot of days to recover until Sunday. I hope they will be ready.
“It is almost like the story of the season: every second game we do substitutions only because of injuries and not because of tactical reasons. It follows us.
“It was another clean sheet and a well-deserved clean sheet. It was hard work to not allow changes to a strong team. It was a bit up and down, some very good moments, some weaker moments, some unforced errors, but we never gave big chances away.”
2022 Carabao Cup Final: Liverpool also have two players who might not play
Just like Chelsea that have two players battling to be fit ahead of the 2022 Carabao Cup final, their opponents for the cup game, Liverpool have two players battling to be fit.
Liverpool’s manager, Jurgen Klopp confirmed recently that Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota are still battling to be fit ahead of the Carabao Cup final.
The German coach hopes that the two players can regain full fitness before the clash which is scheduled to take place at the Wembley Stadium at 17:30 on Sunday.
“I saw them both today (Monday), they both look great – but those two always look great”, coach Jurgen Klopp told Liverpool’s official website.
“We have to see how the specific issues develop but we obviously will try everything.”
How to watch the 2022 Carabao Cup final
Football fans in the United Kingdom can watch the 2022 Carabao Cup Final on television via Sky Sports Football. For those who want to stream the game online, Sky Go is the platform.
While football (soccer) lovers in the United States can follow the game live on Television via the ESPN network. They can also stream the game online via the ESPN+ app.
Thomas Tuchel – The Story so far pic.twitter.com/5CB8L9S8Hd
— Muk (@CFC_Muk) January 26, 2022
