It’s Klopp and perhaps Salah’s last season at Liverpool, they want the cup

WHEN Jurgen Klopp names his Liverpool squad today, it could be one of the weakest players he has picked all season.

And I’m sure the irony of it all in the Carabao Cup final, with the first trophy of the season up for grabs, won’t be lost on him either.

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To Klopp’s credit, he has been one of the few bosses to treat domestic cup competitions with respect in recent seasons.

That has certainly not always been the case. Like many foreign managers, I don’t think he quite ‘got’ their importance in the English game.

But certainly during the last half of his time at Anfield you can’t accuse him of that.

Whatever he did in the early years, nowadays you never see him fill the team with reserves and kids, and then spout all that nonsense about wanting to give everyone a game.

Whatever the competition and opposition, Klopp is sending out a ‘real’ team.

If he can, that is. So it goes without saying that he would like to do the same at Wembley.

Unfortunately for him, there is no chance of that thanks to an injury list that reaches double figures – against Chelsea, which is finally starting to show some form.

I know the Premier League rules everything these days, but I’ll still never understand why managers don’t try to win every trophy they can.

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Even those who know they will never win the title, but also never go down, still write off the cup games. Why

The feeling of winning a final can never be beaten. Try telling every fan it’s not important. There’s nothing like it, no matter what nonsense people come out with.

Maybe that’s something Klopp himself didn’t think through properly at first, if you look at some of his sides early on. But he does now.

Yes, he may use them to give youngsters a chance, but the core of his Liverpool Cup squad has always been filled with his best players.

What a shame, then, that so many of them are struggling for the day, as everyone at Anfield is desperate to make Jurgen’s final season at Anfield unforgettable.

But I have to admit that while I don’t see them winning four trophies, even though they still have a chance, I think they would just go above and beyond today even without some of their big names.

Those who have come in are doing well – like Conor Bradley – and players like Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson are fit and in top form again.

While everyone is talking about Klopp’s departure in the summer, I would be surprised if this isn’t also Mo Salah’s last season at Liverpool.

He has 12 months left on his contract, it’s the last chance to make big money and with a new manager next season I think all indications are that he will leave this summer.

So today there is an extra incentive. . . and assuming Salah is fit enough to start, this is your most likely match winner.

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Mind you, I think it will be very close, possibly with penalties. This is how finals between these two usually end.

I have to admit that I would also like to see Mauricio Pochettino win a trophy, especially after that ridiculous and terrible situation with Thiago Silva and his wife Isabelle recently.

Poch was already struggling, and then he had his main man’s wife and one of the world’s greatest players tweeting that it’s time for a change. . . unbelieveable!

You can say what you want, but that relationship: player and manager, no woman! – will never be the same again.

Pochettino is a good man and that will have hurt him a lot. I couldn’t believe it when I first heard it.

It was a bold move to leave Thiago out for the FA Cup match against Aston Villa, but Chelsea got a result and put in another good performance without him to draw against Manchester City.

So he got through it unscathed, Chelsea are starting to bounce back a bit and they will certainly go to Wembley with a lot more confidence than they did a few weeks ago.

But if you twist my arm, I’d still almost want Liverpool to go over it, even with their injuries. . . even though it will be close.