Manchester City are aiming to become the second most successful club of all-time in the League Cup when they take on Chelsea in Sunday’s final.
The Citizens could pick up their sixth triumph in the competition with only Liverpool (8) boasting a better record.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s form has been patchy at best and their 6-0 humiliation at the hand of their fellow finalists earlier this month will no doubt be fresh in the memory.
Here, we look at the talking points ahead of the encounter.
CHAOS AT CHELSEA
From owner Roman Abramovich’s uncertain future in England to the problems on the pitch for Maurizio Sarri, Chelsea have had a lot to deal with this season. Just as a 3-0 win at home to Malmo in the Europa League saw them pull back on the yoke in an attempt to arrest their nosedive, news of a transfer ban the following morning had them plummeting towards a crisis again.
FIFA have suspended The Blues from making new signings over the next two transfer windows. Given the current contingent’s struggles to get accustomed to ‘Sarriball’, the ban comes as a major setback for the Premier League outfit. Will results improve at all under the Italian tactician if he’s incapable of drafting in new recruits to bring his system to fruition?
On the other hand, the club would no doubt struggle to entice a new manager to replace Sarri while under the transfer ban. Any incoming coach cherishes the ability to sign a few players of his own in order to implement his style and philosophy. Meanwhile, Callum Hudson-Odoi continues to flirt with Bayern Munich.
Amid all these distractions, Chelsea have a final to play – one that may be their only shot at silverware this season after being eliminated from the FA Cup by Manchester United last week.
Chelsea appealing Fifa’s two-window transfer ban was inevitable. But also what an opportunity to field more consistently some of these magnificent young players emerging from their brilliant Academy, perhaps even build around them long-term. #cfc
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) February 22, 2019
CITY ARE ALL BUSINESS
At the other end of the spectrum, City resemble a well-oiled machine as we enter the business end of the season. They’ve shifted into top gear now and have won 13 of their last 14 encounters across all competitions.
They look relentless at the moment and have a determination about them – something that held them in good stead as they produced an excellent comeback against Schalke in midweek, trailing 2-1 with ten men to win 3-2 away from home.
The Citizens have also grown used to lifting the League Cup. The holders have won the competition three times in the last six years. City are still in every competition this season and should they beat Chelsea in the final, whispers of a potential quadruple will only grow more audible around the club.
Having lost 2-0 to Sarri’s side at Stamford Bridge early on in the season, Guardiola clearly learned his lesson – a 6-0 mauling in the return league fixture at the Etihad emphatically confirmed that.
There’s plenty of respect and admiration between the two managers but Chelsea are badly wounded. City smell blood and don’t appear to be in any sort of mood to show mercy.
“It’s another chance to win a title.
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 22, 2019
"And it’s always beautiful to play a final at Wembley, for our fans as well.
“It’ll be tough. They have a lot of quality players up front, so we should take care.”
💬 @21LVA
🔵 #mancity pic.twitter.com/JMlSvkDwm6
CALL ON CALLUM AND ROSS
The first word that comes to mind when considering Chelsea’s tactics is ‘predictable’. Many have suggested several variations to his 4-3-3 system or even entirely different set-ups but it’s become apparent that Sarri will make no compromises as far as his treasured philosophy is concerned.
At some point though, the Chelsea boss must recognise and reward the efforts from the substitutes’ bench. Hudson-Odoi had another good game in the Europa League, getting on the score sheet as well. While the system is predictable, the young winger is not. He’s still something of an unknown entity and offers Chelsea an X-factor.
Ross Barkley falls into the same bracket as well but does so largely because of Mateo Kovacic’s exceptionally poor form rather than his own impressive displays of late. The loanee from Real Madrid has delivered one nothing performance after another but is still preferred to the Englishman.
Granted, Barkley’s form hasn’t been much to write home about but when it does click for him he’s capable of popping up with a goal – as he did with his free-kick against Malmo – or making telling contributions which is more than can be said about Kovacic.
