Robbie Fowler believes Liverpool possess one of the best squads he has ever seen at the club, and says they hold a marginal edge over Chelsea ahead of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.
Jurgen Klopp’s side head to Wembley Stadium looking to win their first domestic cup under the German, as they face off with Thomas Tuchel’s Blues in north London.
The Merseysiders have been tipped as slight favourites by their opposing manager in the buildup, and club great Fowler – who scored 183 goals in 369 appearances for the Reds and is a two-time League Cup winner – feels they have the players to triumph.
Fowler said: “Whatever team shows up, either side has shown they can compete.
“Chelsea have played in five major finals in the last 12 months, so you know what they’re capable of.
“But you look at Liverpool’s form of late, the squad they’ve got, they can compete with anyone. It has got the makings of a great game. I’m obviously sat on the Liverpool side of it.
“Whoever starts in the front three, if they turn up, Liverpool win the game because they’re just exceptional players. We’ve seen that in the past.
“I think Liverpool have the slight edge. Chelsea will have confidence themselves but this is one of the best Liverpool squads I’ve ever seen.”
Fowler also weighed in on the Reds’ renewed Premier League title charge after they closed the gap on leaders Manchester City to just three points following a 6-0 win against Leeds on Wednesday, adding that the form of both teams has set up a scintillating run-in.
He said: “Four [or] five weeks ago everyone was writing Liverpool off.
“he Africa Cup of Nations – [Mohamed] Salah and [Sadio] Mane going away for it – people were thinking Liverpool were maybe going to fall away.
“If anything, they improved a little bit. Then the players came back and it’s like they’ve never been away.
“Potentially, Liverpool are a hair width away from being able to win it, but they’ve got to play Man City, they’ve got a great manager, but it’s in each clubs’ hands now because they have to play each other.
“Whatever Liverpool do, you can see City going on a great run, get the amount of points that they probably need. But it’s the makings of a real humdinger for the remainder of the season.”