Before Chelsea and Liverpool play one other in the League Cup final, Theo Walcott shares his prediction.

Theo Walcott has stated his prediction in advance of Chelsea vs. Liverpool in this Sunday’s EFL Cup final.

This weekend’s Premier League match between Chelsea and Liverpool is postponed as they square off at Wembley Stadium in the Carabao Cup final.

The Blues have a lot riding on their ability to capture the trophy in a few days. The team led by Mauricio Pochettino is struggling to rescue a season that is gradually finishing in the middle of the standings in the league.

The Reds are the front-runners to win the first trophy in 2024. In his last season at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp hopes to cap off by leading his club to victory in the four competitions they remain in.

Before the League Cup final, Theo Walcott, who is now retired, revealed his pre-match thoughts.

He believes there will be a close match that is decided by penalties.

“Anything can happen in a cup final,” Walcott said to Football Daily, referring to the forthcoming match between Liverpool and Chelsea. Since two teams are so similar in stature when it comes to the cup finals, they truly do cancel each other out, as we know from previous experience playing these games. In a cup final, every player wants to win and play until the absolute end, which is why you see so many of them take penalties in the Premier League.

“I think this will probably go all the way to the end, which is never good because I detest penalties.”

Liverpool against Chelsea

The scars from Chelsea’s agonising penalties-based losses to Liverpool in the League Cup and FA Cup finals a few years ago will still be felt by Blues fans.

Though we are the underdogs against a dominant Liverpool team that is cruising to the top of the league, let’s hope a somewhat new roster of players can do better this time around.

Apart from Liverpool’s crushing 4-1 thrashing of Chelsea last month, these clubs’ recent games have been rather well matched.

More news……

Liverpool is one of the world’s TOP FIVE most valuable football teams.

An American survey has placed Liverpool in the top 30 all-sports franchises and among the top five most valuable football teams in the world.

The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys are ranked first overall on a list of the top 100 sports franchises by sports business site Sportico, with a valuation of $9.2 billion (£7.3 billion).

Eleven European football teams—Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, PSG, Tottenham, and Juventus—make the cut, despite the fact that American teams predominate the list.

Liverpool is ranked fourth out of all football teams and is in 29th place overall, between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Cubs, with a valuation of $4.71 billion (£3.73 billion).

Sportico explains the reasoning behind the numbers as follows: “Sportico’s most recent valuations for the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, Formula One, and international football are the foundation for the top 100 franchises.”

“Sportico estimated each team’s revenue to determine the market value of the sports franchises by using publicly accessible data and financial records—as well as speaking with individuals who are familiar with team finances, such as sports bankers and attorneys who handle deals on a daily basis. Team members, including owners, CEOs of the team or parent company, presidents, chief financial officers, and public relations staff, in addition to investors and industry experts, verified this information.”

From a Liverpool standpoint, it’s interesting to note that the Boston Red Sox, another significant team owned by the Reds’ FSG, are valued at $5.21 billion (£4.13 billion), ranking 20th on the list.

Additionally, Liverpool’s worth is reported to have increased by 14% from the previous year.