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Capital One Cup final preview: Liverpool vs Man City

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The Reds manager will be hoping to extend his winning run in the Capital One Cup to one more game

The Reds manager will be hoping to extend his winning run in the Capital One Cup to one more game

Venue: Wembley Stadium
Game: Capital One Cup Final
Kick-off: 16:30
Referee: Michael Oliver

The Reds arrive in London today to take on Man City in the Capital One Cup final; a game that holds as much importance for both sides, as it could well be either team’s biggest opportunity to bring back some silverware this season.

Manchester City are going strong in the Champions League, but struggling to keep the pace with surprise package Leicester City in the Premier League, whit Liverpool are way off the pace in the league but have booked themselves a place in the last 16 of the Europa League.

Despite respective form in European competitions, both sides will know that today’s final is a huge opportunity to boost confidence, boost a fanbase and ensure there is some early success this season.

For Jurgen Klopp, the cup represents an opportunity to give his managerial career at Liverpool an early shot in the arm, whilst Manuel Pellegrini will be hoping to add one more bit of silverware, at least, to his Man City haul before leaving the club in the summer.

Despite Liverpool smashing City early in Klopp’s reign, there really is no way to separate the sides ahead of the match today. On paper, Man City should be the favourites, having the stronger squad and more experience in final situations.

But Liverpool have already demonstrated that they are capable of scoring goals against the Premier League’s top sides. Recent form suggests that there is little to choose between the two, with Liverpool winning 2, drawing 2 and losing 1, whilst City have won 2 and lost 3. Both won in Europe this week and will be buoyed by progression in another cup competition.

Despite the struggles to put FC Augsburg to the sword on Thursday, Klopp will have been delighted to see his available squad come through unscathed and we’re unlikely to see too many changes ahead of the game.

For the Reds, Martin Skrtel, Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana have all returned to training this week but we’ll be unlikely to see any of them take part in the game.

City are in a slightly better position, injury-wise, with Kevin De Bruyne and Samir Nasri the only big misses, whilst both Wilfried Bony and Jesus Navas could still make the squad.

Both sides are more than likely to lineup exactly as they did in the week, with just Kolo Toure probably replacing Lucas in central defence. That said, if that change occurs, don’t be surprised to see Klopp fave Lucas pushed into midfield with Emre Can dropping out.

Catch the Capital One Cup final coverage live from 16:00 on Sky Sports 1.

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I'm a 32 year old Liverpool fan, living in the heart of the City Centre. I've supported the club since the day I was born and have been writing articles for L4L for over 3 years, writing close over 350 articles in that time. My favorite player of the past generation is Sami Hyypia.

I am the current editor for L4L, with my day job being in R&D for the NHS.