Chelsea vs Liverpool LIVE: Latest FA Cup final updates

Thomas Tuchel spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live ahead of kick off and explained his delight in choosing to start Mateo Kovacic in midfield today.

“It was nice [to pick Mateo Kovacic], I couldn’t believe it but he trained yesterday. He wants to play.” he said. “We take the risk and see if it works in the match.

“There was no need to change up top. Why break the rhythm? You don’t need to lift anyone for a cup final. We are close to the stadium, we see the arch every day.

“We want to win in yellow today.”

Sadio Mane has six goals in 16 appearances against Chelsea, while Mohamed Salah has scored four in 14. How important will this two be for Liverpool’s chances today?

Sadio Mane has been speaking about the determination in the Liverpool dressing room to win the FA Cup today and increase the Reds’ trophy haul to two for the season.

“We’ve been talking about it in the dressing room,” he said. “I’ve been asking the boys, ‘When was the last time Liverpool won it?’ I think it was a long time ago. Not only the players, I think all the fans around the world are very excited to win it again.

“Years ago, we won the Premier League, Champions League, so winning the FA Cup will be massive for us, for everyone at the club as well and the fans.

“Like I always say, a final is always special, especially in this season. We know already our target from the beginning is to do everything possible to win all the trophies possible.

“So we have a chance to make another step, so let’s see what’s going to happen because we know we’re going to face a very, very good side. Everything is possible, so we will see.”

Chelsea are the first side to reach three consecutive FA Cup finals since Arsenal between 2000-01 and 2002-03. They lost the previous two against Arsenal and Leicester City.

This will be Liverpool’s 43rd Wembley appearance in total. They have won 21 and lost 15, scoring 55 goals, with Ian Rush (10) having scored the most.

Liverpool have not lost any of the 42 matches this season in which they have scored the first goal of the game – 38 wins and four draws.

Can the Reds go on to lift the FA Cup for the first time since 2006?

Liverpool handed huge boost ahead of the FA Cup final as new stats reveal Jurgen Klopp’s squad have a superior record in finals than Chelsea players.

Here we consider the record of all players likely to appear in this years FA Cup Final and how they have previously got on when playing in major cup finals for club and country in the past.

Looking deep into Football Final Statistics research via OLBG, players in Jurgen Klopp’s squad have an average final win percentage of 62%, while Chelsea is considerably lower at 52%.

However, when it comes to the managers that trend reverses as Jurgen Klopp’s winning record is only 36% compared to 56% for Thomas Tuchel.

Thomas Tuchel makes just one change to the Chelsea team that started against Leeds in the Premier League last time out. Andreas Christensen is replaced in the back line with Thiago Silva.

Jurgen Klopp meanwhile makes five changes to the Liverpool starting XI that faced Aston Villa in their previous game. Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate come into the back line to replace Joel Matip and Kostas Tsimikas. In midfield Fabinho is out through injury and Curtis Jones drops to the bench as Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara slot in. Mo Salah also returns taking the place of Diogo Jota in the front three.

Chelsea XI: Mendy, Chalobah, Silva, Rudiger, James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso, Mount, Pulisic, Lukaku

Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Keita, Henderson, Thiago; Salah, Mane, Diaz

The atmosphere is building nicely at Wembley as the fans start to flock to the stadium.