Paul Merson's prediction for Liverpool vs Chelsea Carabao Cup Final

We're all set to witness the first final of the English football season this weekend as Liverpool and Chelsea battle it out for the Carabao Cup at Wembley on Sunday. While Liverpool have been fairly dominant in domestic competitions so far, Chelsea have plenty of work to do to redeem themselves this season.

Chelsea find themselves in 10th place in Premier League standings and are only beginning to find their feet under Mauricio Pochettino. They managed to keep Manchester City to a 1-1 draw last week and will now need to get the better of another powerful opponent on Sunday.

With Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez playing well together, Chelsea now look like a unit. There was no solidity in the team before, but they now look like a threat. They don't look formidable just as yet, but they aren't getting overrun anymore.

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Liverpool injuries present Chelsea with an opportunity

Liverpool have a few injury concerns

The timing of this game is going to play a massive role. Chelsea were thoroughly outplayed by Liverpool in the Premier League last month. With Liverpool hampered by a few injuries, however, this could be a heads-or-tails football match.

Anybody can win this game, and that's a big bonus for Chelsea. I don't think that was the case four weeks ago - this fixture was Liverpool's to lose. You look at the 4-1 thrashing Chelsea received at Anfield and wonder what chance they could possibly have, but I do think this game could go either way.

Chelsea will set their team up on the counter, like they did against Manchester City. They've managed to turn their campaign around over the past year, and they created a lot of chances for themselves in the Man City game.

Liverpool, on the other hand, have several injuries to address at the moment. Curtis Jones wasn't getting into the team last season, and he could be a huge miss now in this fixture. It goes to show you how quickly football can change.

Alexis Mac Allister has come into his own for Liverpool over the past month, and I think it's because he's now got movement in front of him. You give him space to work with, and he'll run the show. He's got to be on the ball, and the holding midfield role didn't suit him.

Liverpool have now got Wataru Endo, who keeps the ball really well. Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah are prepared to run off the ball, and they're on the same wavelength as Mac Allister. When there are no players making runs, you're taking away his abilities. He isn't the kind who'll make runs and get out of tight areas, but his passing range is very good.

If Salah or Nunez play this game, it's going to make a big difference. Salah, in particular, turned the game upside down when he came on against Brentford - he's playing on a different planet than the rest.

Neither Salah nor Nunez featured against Luton, however, and if that team is going to play in the Carabao Cup final, we may well see a Chelsea victory.

Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool