Chelsea v Liverpool EFL Cup final specials: Super Sadio could be the main man

Free football tips, best special bets and analysis for Chelsea v Liverpool in the League Cup final on Sunday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event/Football, 4.30pm Sunday

Best bets

Sadio Mane man of the match
1pt 9-1 bet365

Thiago Alcantara first booking
1pt 12-1bet365

Verdict

An abundance of attacking talent will be on show in Sunday's League Cup final at Wembley but Sadio Mane looks as likely as anyone to provide a match-winning moment.

Mane's team-mate Mo Salah is 4-1 favourite in the man-of-the-match betting, but there is very little to choose between the duo in terms of their influence on the Liverpool team.

Salah usually finishes with more goals thanks, in part, to his penalty-taking duties, but Mane has reached a double-figure tally in each of his six seasons on Merseyside and approaches the final full of confidence after scoring two late goals in the 6-0 home thrashing of Leeds on Wednesday.

Chelsea's chances could depend heavily on the effectiveness of their midfield stemming the service into Liverpool's forwards.

N'Golo Kante's hard work rarely goes unnoticed and if the game goes Chelsea's way then he would be a potential man-of-the-match contender at 14-1.

Thiago Alcantara has had a key role to play in Liverpool's impressive recent results but the Spaniard's enthusiasm for a tackle makes him an interesting 12-1 shot to be the first player booked by Wembley referee Stuart Attwell.

The 30-year-old has been largely well behaved this season – collecting just one yellow card - but he hasn't always been so restrained and was carded ten times in his final season at Bayern Munich.

Thiago is likely to be up against Kante in a hotly-contested midfield battle and it would not be a huge surprise if he was a swift entrant into Attwell's notebook.

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