"War is coming" – Chelsea star sends message to Liverpool ahead of EFL Cup final

Chelsea defender Malo Gusto has shared his thoughts on his team's EFL Cup final against Premier League leaders Liverpool at Wembley on Sunday (February 25).

The Blues, who are 10th with 35 points from 25 Premier League outings, defeated the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion and Newcastle United on their way to the final. They beat EFL Championship side Middlesbrough 6-2 across two legs in the semi-finals last month.

Liverpool, on the other hand, triumphed over Leicester City and Bournemouth prior to defeating West Ham United 5-1 in the EFL Cup quarter-final. Later on, they beat Fulham 3-2 over two legs in the last-four stage.

With the EFL Cup summit clash knocking on the door, Gusto posted a message on his Instagram story on Saturday. The 20-year-old Chelsea right-back captioned his social media image:

"War is coming 🥷"

So far this campaign, Mauricio Pochettino's outfit have faced Liverpool twice in the Premier League. They were held to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge last August and crashed to a 4-1 loss at Anfield on January 31.

Pep Lijnders hails 3 Chelsea players ahead of 2023-24 EFL Cup final against Liverpool

Ahead of Sunday's cup contest, Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders claimed that three Chelsea stars could positively influence his team's upcoming encounter. He elaborated (h/t Metro):

"A good final only starts by analysing their strengths and where to start? Enzo Fernandez is the one where it all starts. They have some instability so how can you expect them to show up straight away? Pochettino has already found his starting XI and Cole Palmer has been one of the finds of the season, taking them from a rival."

Highlighting Conor Gallagher as a vital performer, Lijnders continued:

"Conor Gallagher is a proper leader, a No.10 but gets his shirt dirty as well. If you let them play between the lines with their technique it will be really hard, they have speed up front. When they play out of our counter-press, we will need both boxes to defend."

While Enzo Fernandez has registered seven goals and one assist in 31 outings for the Blues this campaign, Gallagher has produced three goals and six assists in 33 matches. Cole Palmer, who left Manchester City for £42.5 million last summer, has bagged 12 goals and provided nine assists in 29 appearances across competitions so far.

As for injury news, Chelsea are allegedly likely to miss seven players for Sunday's final against Liverpool. They are set to miss Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Benoit Badiashile, Romeo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukwu, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Wesley Fofana at Wembley.