Jurgen Klopp will face fellow German Thomas Tuchel on the touchline at Wembley in what should be another feisty affair. The two teams met in the Carabao Cup final in February and that match needed penalties to decide a winner. What will happen tomorrow? Sahil Sajan previews the game with Gulf News experts.
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00:00Chelsea who are going to be taking on Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool tomorrow in the showpiece at
00:04Wembley. It's actually a repeat of the Carabao Cup and that's only happened for the second time
00:10where the two teams in the Carabao Cup, the League Cup as it's known, have made it to the FA Cup final.
00:15Hello and welcome to another episode of Golf News Kicking Back. I'm joined again by my football
00:30experts Sahil and Shamsir. Guys, today we're going to be talking about the FA Cup final.
00:36I know Shamsir you're very excited about this because it's your team Chelsea who are going to
00:40be taking on Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool tomorrow in the showpiece at Wembley. It's actually a repeat
00:46of the Carabao Cup and that's only happened for the second time where the two teams in the Carabao
00:52Cup, the League Cup as it's known, have made it to the FA Cup final. And if this game is anything
00:58like that game which happened in February, it finished nil-nil let's not forget, but it was
01:02probably the most exciting nil-nil draw I think we've all ever seen. Shamsir, what do you think
01:08is going to happen tomorrow, right? Oh man, don't remind me of that Carabao Cup final because we played
01:13so well in that game and I think we had the better chances to kill off that game in the
01:1990 minutes and we didn't take our chances. And if you do that against a team like Liverpool then
01:25you will have to pay the price in the end and that's what we did. And even the penalty shootout,
01:30man, it went on like anything and it was like you could see some perfect penalties in that.
01:35And in the end, Kepa missed a penalty. I don't want to recall those moments but
01:42the Wembley debacle is happening for us for a while now. We were so good at winning
01:48games, the final games at Wembley, but now it doesn't seem like that way because we have lost
01:54two FA Cup finals. One against Leicester last season and the one before that was against Arsenal.
02:01So, it's not a happy hunting ground for us anymore and we lost to the Carabao Cup final as well. So,
02:07we need to break the hoodoo. So, we lost three finals in a row already at Wembley. This is the
02:13fourth attempt and to kill has won us the Champions League, the UEFA Cup, the Club World Cup.
02:20The FA Cup is the one that he might be looking at but the thing is that since he came to the Chelsea
02:26dugout, we have reached two consecutive FA Cup finals which itself is a great achievement
02:31because you look at Klopp. He has been there for a long time and this is his first FA Cup final.
02:37And that could see how good a job Tuchel is doing. But Liverpool are the favourites.
02:45You have to call them the favourites. Chelsea are the underdogs and I love that way because
02:50we have always produced good football and good results when we were underdogs.
02:55So, fingers crossed. We'll see.
02:57Sahil, are Liverpool the favourites? What do you think? Chelsea have got a good chance tomorrow.
03:02We're going to be watching this game as neutral. So, either way, we're just hoping for another
03:06fantastic game like it was last February. But what do you think is going to happen tomorrow,
03:09Sahil?
03:10No, I think definitely Chelsea have a good chance. I mean, Shamshir has made some good points.
03:14Obviously, Liverpool are stronger. What they've done the whole season. But obviously, Chelsea
03:19have a good chance. Such fantastic players in that team. It's going to be a good competition
03:24between Rhys James and Trent Alexander-Arnold. It's going to be a cracker of a game. I mean,
03:28that Carvalho Cup final, that was one of the most fun 0-0 games that I watched in my entire life.
03:34You know, the amount of chances Mason Mount missed, which were disappointing. Lukaku scored,
03:39but it was offside. So, that was Chelsea's final, but Chelsea dug their own grave. So,
03:44they have themselves to blame. But it's going to be a cracker of a game and I'm definitely
03:48backing Chelsea to fight for it.
03:50OK, so look, Klopp's attempts to catch Man City in the league have taken a bit of a blow in the
03:55last couple of days. So, how important is it for them to make sure that they can win tomorrow
04:01and to still stay on track for that quadruple after Shamshir?
04:06It's an important game for Klopp. You know, you have to take that opportunity and win that
04:12trophy, which Klopp hasn't won. That's one thing. And also, you know, like what we have discussed
04:18yesterday, you know, they have to add trophies into their basket already because the quadruple
04:22might be out of reach. So, they have to just keep adding and they don't want the season to end with
04:28only Carabao Cup. So, this trophy is as important as any other trophy for them. And looking at the
04:36team news, Fabinho is out. That's a major blow for Liverpool. And Kovacic was injured against
04:45Leeds. You could see that tackle from James. That was a horrible tackle.
04:50But then the good news that we are hearing is that Kovacic is back in training and all
04:55those things. So, there is a slight chance that he could make to the final. He's a very
04:58important player for Chelsea in that midfield. You know, Kovacic, having Kovacic in that midfield,
05:04the whole system changes for Chelsea. The way play all changes. So, he's a very important
05:11player because he can carry the ball to the forward and he's so press-resistant. So, Kovacic
05:16is one of the most important players for Chelsea. So, if he plays, then the Chelsea fans will be
05:21confident about the game. Otherwise, I don't think they have a genuine chance of winning the game.
05:28But Shamsher, I think Kante is facing a late fitness test. He might not be able to play
05:34tomorrow. How much of a miss is he going to be if he's not playing?
05:37See, I don't know whether I'm saying this or not, but Kante is having a very average season
05:43for his standards. So, even if he's fit, we are not going to miss him that much, which is a strange
05:51caught from me. But you never know. You want your best player because Kante can produce in a final.
05:56And we have seen that in the last Champions League, back-to-back man of the match performances
06:00and all. So, he's a big game player for us. But if Kovacic is fit and he's not going to be
06:06and if Kante is in, Kovacic and Loftus-Cheek or Kovacic and Jorginho would do for me.
06:12But Kovacic is the most important player at the moment in that midfield.
06:16Fahed, do you think Chelsea's lack of midfield options could hurt them tomorrow? Or do you
06:21think they're going to have enough, maybe in an attack, to pose Liverpool a genuine threat?
06:28No, of course, it's going to hurt if they don't have their options. You know,
06:31I've seen Tuchel changing it up all the time. Sometimes Loftus-Cheek and Kante are playing,
06:35sometimes Jorginho and Kante are playing. Kovacic returns because they go with the back five,
06:39right? So, he changes it up a lot. So, I mean, they have a good squad, no doubt. But I don't
06:45agree with Shamsher. I think Kante is their main man in the midfield. There's no doubt about that.
06:49He's their main man. He has been Chelsea's hero since the time he's joined. So, I hope Kante
06:55plays because he's the one who drives Chelsea forward in that midfield.
07:00All right, let's have some predictions for tomorrow's FA Cup final. Liverpool against
07:03Chelsea, Wembley Stadium. It's going to be another fascinating game. It's just like the
07:07one that we saw in the Carabao Cup. I hope it's like that as a neutral. I just want to see a
07:10really good, entertaining game. I think Chelsea can win this tomorrow. I'm going to go with Chelsea.
07:18Shamsher, I'm sure you're going to say Chelsea. What do you think is going to happen tomorrow?
07:21Give me a score.
07:24See, we have lost so many finals in a row now. So, I think it's about time for us to win one.
07:30And the good news is that Lukaku is scoring goals again. And he looks sharp. He looks
07:35confident. If he gets a start tomorrow, I think he can bag one. And I think that will be the
07:41decider for the game. And I think Lukaku is going to make a difference in that final tomorrow.
07:48I think Chelsea are going to win, but a slight margin.
07:52That's two for Chelsea. Sahil, what do you think, man?
07:55I'm also going to back Chelsea. I like the Chelsea squad. Even though I'm a neutral fan,
07:59I mean, Liverpool, come on, they have the best of best. But I want to back Chelsea.
08:04And I want to see a nice front two, Werner and Lukaku, both funny players for Chelsea.
08:08Both sometimes are very off, sometimes are very good. So, I want to see those two play
08:14tomorrow together. It'll be fun to watch those two.
08:16All right. So, all three of us are going Chelsea. That probably means Liverpool's going to win.
08:21Let's focus now on the Premier League. Yesterday, we saw a fascinating North London derby.
08:27It was Arsenal against Tottenham. Arsenal went into that match knowing, had they won,
08:32that would have secured them that top four place for the Champions League. But they lost 3-0.
08:38And now that leaves it wide open. Tottenham are just one point away from Arsenal.
08:42They've both got two games left. Shamsu, what did you make of that game last night?
08:46Amazing, wasn't it?
08:48It was a good game. We already discussed yesterday, this could be the decider for the top four.
08:53And it is going to be that way. Because I think Spurs have got the momentum in their way now.
08:58And they've got two easier fixtures compared to Arsenal. So, they are playing Burnley at home
09:03and Norwich away. Those two games are pretty winnable for Spurs. And look at Arsenal's
09:08fixture. They have to play Newcastle at St James' Park. It's going to be a very tough fixture.
09:13Then the last game of the season for them at Emirates is against your team,
09:17Everton. They might be safe by that time. But still, it's going to be a crazy game.
09:21And you know, it's Franklin Park's Everton. So, it's going to be difficult for Arsenal.
09:26So, I think it is still the fate. Arsenal's top four fate is still in their hands.
09:31But I think Spurs are going to finish top four. Even Son could make that golden boot thing.
09:36Because he's already only one goal behind Salah. And he has got two amazing fixtures.
09:42Sumptuous fixtures in front of him. And he could bag more goals for them.
09:47And yesterday's game, Arsenal fans are criticising Paul Tierney for his performance.
09:52But you can't blame the referee for making such kind of mistakes in a big game.
09:58Like Rob Halding. He's been there for six years in the Premier League.
10:01And the kind of things that he was doing on the pitch yesterday, man.
10:05But horrible from them. And horrible from him, in fact. And even for the penalty that they conceded.
10:10Cedric, what the hell was he doing? So, it's poor defending and poor decision-making.
10:16And the atmosphere got into Rob Halding's head. And that cost them big three points.
10:23And could decide a pivotal point in the top four race.
10:27Sahil, Tottenham have turned the pressure back on their North London rivals with that 3-0 win.
10:32And as Shamsir says, they seem to have on paper the easier games.
10:36They've got Burnley and they've got Norwich who are already relegated.
10:39So, those teams haven't really got... Well, Burnley have got a lot to play for.
10:42But Norwich really don't have anything.
10:44So, if you look at it, that looks like six points on paper for Tottenham there.
10:47Whereas Arsenal, as Shamsir said, they've got Newcastle. That's a tough game.
10:51And then Everton who may need something. We may need something on that last day of the season.
10:56So, those two games are going to be, on paper at least, a lot harder.
10:59How do you see that final spot? Who's going to win that final spot, Sahil?
11:05Personally, I would like to see Arsenal miss out.
11:11But I'd like Tottenham to go through.
11:12Because I actually am a big fan of Antonio Conte.
11:15I'm sure Shamsir is a big fan of that guy too.
11:18But if you see a picture, yeah, on paper, yes, Tottenham have an easier fixture.
11:22But remember, this season Tottenham lost to Burnley.
11:25It's not like Tottenham had dominated Burnley, killed them 1-0.
11:28Like, they played well Burnley that game.
11:31So, it's going to be interesting.
11:33Obviously, Newcastle are a decent team.
11:35Everton, they have beaten Manchester United, Chelsea.
11:38So, that's going to be scary for them.
11:40And Arsenal lost to Everton earlier.
11:42Even though Everton had lost seven games in a row almost.
11:45And they beat Arsenal in that.
11:47So, it's going to be interesting.
11:51But I want Tottenham to go through.
11:52Because Antonio Conte, he's done a crazy job for them.
11:55Like, respect.
11:57Okay, so there's no Premier League games tomorrow.
12:00Because the FA Cup final is the showpiece event.
12:02But on Sunday, we're going to be having a full set of fixtures.
12:07Let's just go through them quickly, one by one.
12:08Starting with Tottenham against Burnley.
12:10Guys, who do you think is going to win that one?
12:11Tottenham, Burnley, Tottenham are at home.
12:14Chasing that Champions League spot.
12:15I'm going with the Tottenham home win.
12:18Same here.
12:18I think it's going to be Son Brace and Harry Kane go at 3-0, first-plus.
12:26As much as I want Burnley to give a fight,
12:28but Tottenham should edge it.
12:29They're in form.
12:30And I think, yeah, maybe Son will score.
12:32Because I think he was very upset when he came off against Arsenal.
12:37And the other couple of big games that we have is West Ham against Manchester City.
12:42Now, City could take, how many, what?
12:45Six points lead if they win tomorrow on Sunday against West Ham.
12:49That will be a huge psychological boost for Pep Guardiola.
12:53And a huge blow for Jurgen Klopp if they take that much of a lead
12:57with just one game to go.
12:58I think Man City are going to win that.
13:00They're just flying right now.
13:02They got five against Wolves the other day with De Bruyne getting four of them.
13:06I can't see anything else but a Man City win.
13:08What do you think, guys?
13:12It's going to be a tricky game.
13:14West Ham, they started so…
13:17I think they have been punching about their weight.
13:19You have to give credit to David Moyes for the job that he has done with that team this season
13:24without much of reinforcements to that squad.
13:27But it's towards the end of the season.
13:29They lost that Europa League semi-final fixture and all.
13:33I think they will be mentally down.
13:36I think City are hungrier.
13:38And even though they don't have a defence for the King tomorrow,
13:42I still think they can outscore West Ham.
13:44I think it's a City win.
13:50I'm going to back City, man.
13:51Come on.
13:52It's Manchester City.
13:53They should win.
13:54They don't have many defenders.
13:56But still, I'm going to back them for sure.
13:59That's a good point.
13:59Yeah, they're missing a couple of…
14:01Well, a lot of players at the back.
14:02Diaz is missing.
14:03John Stones is missing.
14:04Walker is missing.
14:06Bernardinho might not be playing tomorrow.
14:08So, you never know.
14:10And West Ham are still chasing for that European spot.
14:13And they've been strong all season.
14:15David Moyes has set them up really well.
14:16They've got some good players there.
14:18Antonio up front.
14:19Rice in the midfield.
14:21And Sucek has been a really good signing in the middle of the park.
14:24Yeah, I can see, obviously, we're all going with a City win.
14:27But I think it'll be a hard one, maybe.
14:29Let's see.
14:30And the last one to come out.
14:31Let's have a quick word on my boys Everton against Brentford.
14:34Big home match for us.
14:35How good are some parts?
14:36If we can get three points there, fingers crossed, that should keep us up.
14:42And I think we will have a bit too much quality for Brentford with the way we've been playing recently.
14:47OK, we drew against Watford in our last game.
14:50But we picked up some valuable wins against Leicester, against Chelsea.
14:53And Manchester United.
14:54Sorry, you two.
14:55So hopefully, I think we can beat Brentford.
14:59I'm going to go with a good old 2-0 home win.
15:02Yeah.
15:03Yes, the most important thing in this picture is that the match is happening at Goodison Park.
15:08That's the most important thing.
15:10And with the Goodison faithful behind the team, rallying them up.
15:15I can't see anything other than an Everton win.
15:18Because they will be up for it.
15:19Brentford are already on the beach.
15:21They had a great season.
15:23They're already thinking about the next season.
15:25They're already thinking about keeping Eriksen.
15:27Can they keep Eriksen or not?
15:29That's the thing with them.
15:31They can play some free-flowing football if they want to.
15:34But I think Everton will be too strong for Brentford.
15:38I think they're going to win.
15:39It's three points for Everton.
15:40And they're going to be safe.
15:45I'm not going to agree.
15:46I think Brentford have been in really good form.
15:49They just lost to Man Utd recently.
15:50That's their only loss.
15:52If you see, they have been also playing really good football.
15:55So it's not going to be easy for Everton, for sure.
15:57Not at all easy.
15:58Because if you see their past few wins, Brentford are winning easily.
16:01They beat Chelsea 4-1 also about a month or two ago.
16:06It's not going to be easy at all for Everton.
16:08It's going to be tough.
16:09And I think I'm going to back Brentford for this.
16:15You're going to give me a real scare.
16:16That means on the last day of the season,
16:18we may need something against Arsenal.
16:20And they may need something for the Champions League.
16:23I don't know that, Sahil.
16:25But you're right.
16:26With the players that they've got,
16:27you know, Tony, what a player he's been for them.
16:29Eric Snifter can keep holding him.
16:30Superb player.
16:31Superb striker.
16:32They play as a team.
16:33They play really well.
16:34They've had a superb season.
16:35They'll be back again next season.
16:37But yeah, it'll be a tricky game for sure.
16:39Right, guys, that wraps it up for today.
16:41We'll be back tomorrow to have a look how Liverpool and Chelsea
16:44got on in the FA Cup final.
16:45For now, thanks to Sahil and Tanshir.
16:47Log on to gulfnews.com for the latest news, reviews, videos, and lots more.
16:51And we'll see you again soon.
16:52Take care.
16:53All the best.