Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo
Sport
Tom Hancock

Liverpool facing penalty crisis ahead of Carabao Cup final vs Chelsea

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 21: Jurgen Klopp, manager of Liverpool, during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Luton Town at Anfield on February 21, 2024 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images).

Liverpool could find themselves in something of a tight spot if Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Chelsea goes to penalties.

Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez – the only two current Reds players to have scored from the spot outside a shootout – are both doubts for the big Wembley showdown.

The game is a repeat of the 2022 Carabao Cup final – which Liverpool won 11-10 on spot-kicks, with Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga hitting the bar with his penalty to hand victory to Jurgen Klopp's side.

Mo Salah is Liverpool's go-to penalty taker (Image credit: Getty Images)

The reliable Salah scored in that shootout, while Nunez was not yet at the club – but there are serious question marks about the fitness of both going into the Reds' latest trip to the national stadium.

The Egyptian and Uruguayan missed Wednesday night's 4-1 Premier League win over Luton at Anfield, having both found the net as the Reds triumphed by the same scoreline away to Brentford four days earlier.

Salah – who has converted 31 of his 38 non-shootout penalties for Liverpool – only returned to action in the Brentford game, having picked up an injury at the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

Nunez has not taken part in a penalty shootout with the Reds, but he has stepped up twice from 12 yards – finding the net once.

Darwin Nunez missed from the spot in Liverpool's league win over Chelsea last month (Image credit: Getty Images)

Even worse for Klopp and Liverpool, they could well have available only four players who scored in the 2022 Carabao Cup final shootout against Chelsea: Virgil van Dijk, Harvey Elliott, Ibrahima Konate and goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.

That said, it's been all change in the Blues camp since then. Of their 11 penalty takers from that day, only one is even in remote contention to feature this time around: Trevoh Chalobah.

Liverpool certainly had the edge over Chelsea in football's ultimate lottery two years ago, also beating them on penalties in the FA Cup final, 6-5 on that occasion.

More from FourFourTwo

RANKED! The 10 best League Cup finals ever

QUIZ! Can you name every League Cup finalist ever?

IN THE MAG Messi in Miami! PLUS Alonso at Leverkusen, Vicario, Deco, Champions League preview, FFT goes to AFCON and MORE!

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.