Liverpool v Manchester City
- Capital One Cup final
- Sunday, February 28th
- Kick-off: 16:30 GMT
- Wembley, London
- Live on Sky Sports 1
Reds battle Man City for League Cup crown
Wembley once again lies in wait for the Capital One Cup final, as this year’s contenders Liverpool and Manchester City collide on the famous turf this Sunday evening, in what could be a close encounter in London.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is looking to clinch swift silverware success only five months into his reign, while Manuel Pellegrini aims to end his final campaign as Sky Blues manager in style, with Pep Guardiola taking charge this upcoming summer.
A stalemate between the two Premier League sides after 90 minutes is 9/4 with Coral to occur before extra time, though Liverpool are 23/10 to prevail having emerged victorious in three of their last four meetings, including a 4-1 domestic win last in November.
Pellegrini wants momentous cup coup
Having recently exited the FA Cup at the hands of a 5-1 Chelsea thrashing, City’s Chilean coach Pellegrini believes a victory for his team on Sunday (13/10) can be a launchpad for league and European ambitions, as well as a huge silverware coup.
“To play in a final at Wembley, against a big team like Liverpool is very important for us and it is always important to try to win the first trophy of the season,” stated the 62-year-old.
“I always want to win all the trophies in which I participate, because it’s my mentality and it must be the mentality of a big club, always.
“Unfortunately for us we could not continue in the FA Cup, but we are still in the other three competitions and I hope we will be successful on Sunday.
“It was a very important season two years ago. This season is different, but to win a title in February will give us a lot of trust to keep fighting in the other competitions.”
Klopp confident of cup success
Liverpool recently found out they will face bitter rivals Manchester United in the Europa League last 16, after narrowly overcoming Augsburg at Anfield thanks to a James Milner penalty, and the former Man City midfielder is 6/1 to strike anytime past his former employers.
Reds boss Klopp has experience of securing cup success from his time at Borussia Dortmund in Germany and will look to capture his first trophy on Sunday since arriving on Merseyside.
“We will try our damndest to produce a good performance on Sunday,” stated the German.
Both Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho continued their return to fitness ahead of the final by featuring for over an hour against Augsburg and are 6/4 and 7/2 to net in normal time respectively, with Klopp backing his two forwards to comeback strongly.
“[Sturridge] is getting into that rhythm,” added Klopp. “That’s important. That’s what every player would tell you. You need to know you can carry on in a situation where it is a little harder.
“Phil had one or two challenges where he felt this but, when I asked him, he was always okay with it. We need to find new trust and faith in the body of the players.
“It was great for us. They are both very important for us. But we need them in the best shape, and you can only get that shape through training and matches.”
Aguero key to City hopes
With key stars returning to the Reds ranks, Man City will hope their main man Sergio Aguero can maintain his impressive fixture form and fire them to cup glory.
The Argentine ace netted in the hapless 4-1 defeat on home soil last year and is 4/1 to open proceedings at Wembley, as he sits just one strike away from reaching 20 for the campaign. City’s clinical marksman has four in 12 outings over the Merseysiders, which could be added to in London.
Raheem Sterling will hope to avoid an ironic defeat by his old teammates, having left Anfield for City in order to win trophies, and he is 11/4 to dispatch past his former side, while Yaya Toure is 9/1 to grab the last goal in what could be an enthralling League Cup final.
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