Caoimhin Kelleher Prepares For the Biggest Game of His Career

With Caoimhin Kelleher faithfully guarding their goal, Liverpool have made it to the final of the Carabao Cup for the first time since 2016. It’s only fair, then, that it be Kelleher who steps out onto the pitch at Wembley to help see the team through.

Kelleher calls this final the “biggest game” so far in his career, but as the day edges closer, he says he’s counting on his old rituals and routines to combat his nerves and help prepare him.

“To be fair, what I would rather do is maybe just go about it like I would a normal game, to be honest, and just treat it like that,” Kelleher told the official site.

“We prepare well all of the time as a goalkeeping unit so I think just doing that and being prepared for the game will be my main focus.”

A trip to Wembley is always an event, and one this early in the season could be a huge boost in confidence as the team continues their Premier League and Champions League runs.

“I’m really excited,” he added. “It’s what everyone dreams of when you are a young kid growing up: going to Wembley to play in a cup final. It doesn’t come much bigger than that so I’m very excited, the whole team is excited and it will be a great occasion.”

Liverpool are set to take on Chelsea, who have just come off of their Club World Cup victory and will look to add to their season trophy tally.

“Obviously a very tough opponent,” he admitted. “We’ve had two tough games against them and very intense games for both of us.

“We’ll try to learn from the two games that we’ve played already, try to be prepared for this game and hopefully we’ll be ready for them and try to get the win this time. But it will be a tough game, no doubt.”

Both of Liverpool’s matches against Chelsea this season have ended in draws, so expect Sunday’s match to be another close one, especially since cup finals tend to be scrappy affairs.