Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min have set a new Premier League record after combining for Tottenham's final goal in their 4-0 rout of Leeds United.

Having scored Spurs' third in the first half, Kane dropped an exquisite pass over the top of Leeds' floundering defence in the 85th minute, with Son racing through before finishing coolly.

It was the 37th time that the Spurs duo have directly combined for a Premier League goal since Son's move from Bayer Leverkusen in August 2015.

That surpassed the long-standing English top-flight record set by Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba during their time together at Chelsea.

It was also the 20th time they have directly combined away from home in the Premier League; their nearest challengers being Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg's tally of 16 combinations.

The landmark moment came almost five-and-a-half years after their first successful link-up against Stoke City in September 2016. 

In fact, there are only five player combinations that have produced over 25 goals since the establishment of the Premier League in 1992.

Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min – 37, Tottenham Hotspur (2015-present)

After they combined on Wednesday, Kane and Son have now scored 231 goals between them since the start of the 2015-16 season.

In 2020-21, they directly linked up 14 times; a record tally for a single Premier League campaign.

Last season also saw the England captain win the last of three Golden Boot awards, while he topped the assists chart and Son reached goalscoring double figures for a fifth successive year.

Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba – 36, Chelsea (2004-2012)

A combination that helped bring three Premier League titles to Stamford Bridge, Lampard and Drogba were central to Chelsea's success at the beginning of the Roman Abramovich era.

After arriving from Marseille in 2004, the powerful presence of Drogba landed two Golden boots that included an impressive haul of 29 during the 2009-10 season.

That year also saw the prolific Lampard chip in with 22 from midfield as the Blues claimed a third domestic crown in seven campaigns.

Thierry Henry and Robert Pires – 29, Arsenal (2000-2006)

Providing flair on the wing and elegance up front, the iconic French duo brought two Premier League titles to Highbury during the early 2000s.

The second of which came during the 'Invincibles' season of 2003-04, when they scored 44 goals between them as the Gunners completed the campaign without defeat.

Henry won four Golden Boots in the space of five years, while Pires reached double figures in three successive seasons.

Sergio Aguero and David Silva – 29, Manchester City (2011-2020)

The mercurial skills of Silva and clinical finishing of Aguero was always going to provide a recipe for success at City.

Indeed, their combination went on a long way to securing four Premier League titles in the space of nine seasons at the Etihad.

They also left their mark individually. Aguero scored 184 times in the English top flight – a tally only bettered by Alan Shearer (260), Wayne Rooney (208) and Andy Cole (187) – while just five players have recorded more assists than Silva's 93. 

Teddy Sheringham and Darren Anderton – 27, Tottenham (1992-1997, 2001-2003)

While they did not land any domestic silverware, Sheringham and Anderton formed part of an exciting attacking Spurs line-up during the mid-1990s that also featured the likes of Jurgen Klinsmann.

Sheringham top-scored in the inaugural Premier League season of 1992-93 with 22 goals, while he also reached double figures in the following three years.

The two linked up for goals 27 times in the top flight, notably assisting each other in an entertaining 4-3 win at Sheffield Wednesday on the opening day of the 1994-95 campaign – and what was Klinsmann's Spurs debut.

With the EFL Cup final upon us, focus turns to who can be the biggest difference makers when Chelsea take on Liverpool at Wembley on Sunday.

One player emerging as one of the chief influences for the Merseyside giants is Thiago Alcantara, who made his 50th appearance for the club in Wednesday's 6-0 thrashing of Leeds United.

He was a certified medal collector at Bayern Munich, and Sunday sees the former Barcelona midfielder's first opportunity to win a trophy with Liverpool. It has not all been a bed of roses for him, though.

A statement of intent

Liverpool were champions of England for the first time in three decades after romping to the Premier League title and had won the Champions League a year earlier.

Then in September 2020, the club announced the signing of Thiago.

The cultured midfielder was fresh off winning a treble of the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and Champions League with Bayern.

However, doing so seemed like the perfect place to end things after seven years in Bavaria. After all, how could you ever top that?

So, he opted for a new challenge in England.

On his arrival, Thiago made clear his intention to continue adding to his trophy haul at Anfield.

"When the years are passing, you are trying to win as much as you can – and when you win, you want to win more," he told Liverpool's website after his move for a reported fee of £20million (€23.8m).

His debut immediately showed what a difference he could make, as he came on at half-time against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge with the score 0-0, but the hosts reduced to ten men after Andreas Christensen's red card. 

In his 45 minutes on the pitch, Thiago completed more passes (75) than any Chelsea player did across the entire game. Two Sadio Mane goals gave Liverpool a win that seemed to suggest they could potentially march to another title in 2020-21, though that would ultimately be far from the case. 

After missing nearly a month with COVID-19, his second appearance came in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park in October where he shone once again, but it was a game that saw Virgil van Dijk suffer a season-ending knee injury.

On top of that, Thiago was on the end of a rash Richarlison challenge. The former Barca man would not play again until December.

He returned when Liverpool were down to the bare bones in defence. Joe Gomez was also out for the season and Joel Matip would not be far behind.

Midfielders Jordan Henderson and Fabinho were regularly having to play at centre-back, meaning Thiago came into an unsettled team that could not stop dropping points.

Liverpool lost nine of the first 21 games in which Thiago featured, including six games in a row at Anfield, while they were dumped out of the FA Cup and Champions League.

Klopp was eventually able to stop the rot by utilising Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams, who performed admirably in defence as Liverpool rescued a third-place finish, but fielding relative rookies at the back completely changed how the Reds played.

Some pundits surmised the player was unsuited to Klopp's high press, high tempo approach, but quite simply, Liverpool were not playing Klopp's football during the second half of last season. As seen since the return of Van Dijk and Matip, as well as the addition of Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig, he needs a certain grade of centre-back to be able to do that.

Thiago came into his second season looking forward to playing in a team with its regular spine for the first time since that fateful game at Goodison Park, and on the occasions where he has been able to, he has shown just why he is rated so highly.

He scored a stunning goal against Porto in the Champions League group stage, hitting the ball from range with such delicate precision that it seemed to glide an inch off the ground all the way from his foot until it nestled in the corner of the Kop-end net.

Thiago is not a goalscorer though, or even much of a goal creator, directly anyway. In his 235 appearances for Bayern he scored just 31 goals and provided 35 assists, while so far in England he has three goals and one assist in his 50 outings.

However, he is clearly making a difference to the 2021-22 iteration of Liverpool.

Thiago has missed 20 games this season either through injury or COVID-19, and Liverpool have played 28 fixtures in all competitions without him in their starting XI.

Of those, they have won 18 (64.3 per cent), drawn eight and lost two, with an average of 2.5 goals for per game, and one goal against.

Yet Liverpool have won all 12 matches in which Thiago has started, with an average of 2.9 goals for per game, and just 0.2 goals against.

A prime example of his increasing influence came against Norwich City. Thiago was introduced in the 62nd minute with his team 1-0 down. Five minutes later, Liverpool were 2-1 up.

Only six of Liverpool's starters attempted more than his 48 passes despite his short time on the pitch, and Thiago completed 45 (93.8 per cent). Of those passes, 34 were in Norwich's half.

Thiago carried that form on in the rout of Leeds, completing 52 of his 56 passes (92.9 per cent, the highest in the game, but he also showed another side to of his ability, making four tackles, twice as many as the next most from a team-mate (Fabinho), before being substituted in the 68th minute.

Keeping him fit is the big challenge, but should he be able to do so, Klopp potentially now has the depth to challenge on all fronts.

With a quadruple still in the offing, having Thiago available could be the difference between success and failure in multiple competitions for 

Who knows? If Liverpool overcome Chelsea on Sunday and win the EFL Cup for a record ninth time, perhaps he can even eclipse that sensational final season at Bayern after all.

LeBron James has quashed suggestions he is set to leave the Los Angeles Lakers, while repeating that he hopes to continue his career long enough to eventually play alongside his son.

The 37-year-old, one of the NBA's most successful superstars of the twenty-first century, joined the Lakers in 2018, leading them to a 2020 championship - the fourth of his prolific career.

Yet, following comments around the league's All-Star game over wanting to play alongside his son Bronny, speculation had run rife that James could leave the Lakers to finish his career with another franchise.

Speaking after the 105-102 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday though, James sought to shut down discussion, saying he is committed to the franchise through the end of his contract and beyond.

"This is a franchise I see myself being with. I'm here. I'm here," he said. "I see myself being with the purple and gold as long as I can play."

James' current deal has one more season to run, though he is eligible to pen a two-year extension later this year, while high schooler Bronny would not be available to be drafted until the 2024-25 campaign.

"I also have a goal that, if it's possible - I don't even know if it's possible - that if I can play with my son, I would love to do that," James added.

"Is that, like, something that any man shouldn't want that in life? That's like the coolest thing that could possibly happen. That doesn't mean I don't want to be with this franchise."

James - who top scored with 21 points in the loss to the Clippers, as well as managing 11 rebounds - also admitted he remains frustrated by the lack of game time he has shared with Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook this season, with the trio often split by injury.

"I do wish that we were just playing better basketball and between me, AD and Russ on the floor at the same time," James said. "That's the biggest disappointment so far, that us three, because we all wanted to see this work. We just haven't been on the floor."

South Africa took control of the second Test in Christchurch on day two as Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen ripped through the New Zealand top order.

An unbeaten partnership of 66 between Colin de Grandhomme (54 not out) and Daryl Mitchell (29 not out) rescued the Black Caps from 91-5 after the tourists had reached 364 all out in their first innings.

The Proteas resumed on 238-3, but lost four wickets in the first session as Matt Henry and Neil Wagner picked up two each, before Wagner also dismissed Rabada (6) shortly after play resumed.

There was a brief rain delay during the second session that seemed to take the bowlers out of their rhythm as Jansen (37 not out) and Keshav Maharaj (36) added a handy partnership of 62 runs in 13 overs.

New Zealand's reply got off to the worst possible start as Rabada (3-37) struck twice to get rid of Tom Latham for a duck and Will Young for just three. Devon Conway (16) and Henry Nicholls (39) put up some resistance but both ultimately fell to poor shots against Jansen (2-48).

After Tom Blundell came and went, scoring six runs in his six balls, Mitchell and De Grandhomme set about trying to rescue things for their team.

Mitchell ticked over calmly while De Grandhomme hit a 36-ball 50, including two sixes, though was held up after that, mostly by Maharaj's dangerous spin as he scored just four more runs from his next 25 deliveries.

Dean Elgar burned his team's last review with the penultimate delivery of the day as Lutho Sipamla thought he had Mitchell lbw, but replays showed an inside edge as the hosts closed day two still 207 runs behind with five wickets remaining.

Jansen continues impressive start to Test career

This is just the fifth Test Jansen has played in but he is already stepping up in key moments, hitting an impressive 37 not out to add what could be crucial runs at the end of South Africa's first innings, before also doing damage with the ball.

The 21-year-old took an impressive 19 wickets in three Tests against India, and although he and his team-mates all struggled in the first Test in New Zealand, he in particular has come back with a bang at the Hagley Oval.

De Grandhomme rolls back the years

It was a difficult moment to arrive at the crease with his team still 273 runs behind and five wickets down, but the 35-year-old utilised his trademark aggression and attacked South Africa's bowlers, hitting the only two sixes of the Test so far.

This was De Grandhomme's ninth 50 of his Test career, but he has only gone on to score a century once (v West Indies in 2017). New Zealand could really do with him doubling that amount on day three.

James Harden scored 27 points with 13 assists on his Philadelphia 76ers debut and formed a strong partnership with Joel Embiid in a 133-102 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.

Harden, who crossed from the Brooklyn Nets in an NBA Trade Deadline move earlier this month, almost registered a debut triple-double, with eight rebounds.

Embiid has been in irrepressible form this season, although there had been some concern Harden's arrival may blunt some of his offensive impact, but the center contributed 34 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

The new-look 76ers had immediate cohesion, scoring 65 points in the first half, before a 41-point final quarter with Tyrese Maxey finishing with 28 points while Harden also drained five three-pointers, shooting seven-of-12 from the field.

The 76ers recorded a season-high 19 three-pointers for the game, with head coach Doc Rivers admitting "that was pretty good" when asked post-game if Harden's debut could have gone any better.

Lakers fall to Clippers again

Terance Mann led the way with 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers won a tight game with the Los Angeles Lakers 105-102, the sixth time in a row they have beaten their local rivals.

LeBron James top scored with 21 but was unable to stop the Clippers from taking charge in the closing moments, with Amir Coffey adding 12 of his 14 points for the night in the fourth quarter.

The San Antonio Spurs edged the Washington Wizards 157-153 in double over-time, with both teams setting season-highs in scoring. Spurs guard Dejounte Murray recorded a triple-double, although he missed potential winning shots in both regulation and the first over-time.

RJ Barrett scored 46 points including six three-pointers but the New York Knicks went down 115-110 to the Miami Heat, while Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points and Rudy Gobert had a double-double (14 points and 17 rebounds) as the Utah Jazz beat Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavericks 114-109.

Suns streak halted

The table-topping Phoenix Suns' eight-game winning streak came to an end, going down 117-102 to the lowly New Orleans Pelicans. Devin Booker top scored with 30 points for the Suns, who were without injured veteran guard Chris Paul. CJ McCollum scored 32 points for the Pels as he continues to thrive following his trade.

Inter failed to capitalise on Milan's slip-up as the Nerazzurri were held to a 0-0 draw by Serie A strugglers Genoa.

Simone Inzaghi's side went into Friday's clash at Stadio Luigi Ferraris knowing a win would take them level on points with leaders Milan, who could only draw with Udinese.

Despite seeing plenty of the ball, Inter failed to forge many clear-cut chances against a team that has won only once in Serie A this term, with Danilo D'Ambrosio's header against the crossbar the nearest they came to a winner.

Inter have now won just once in their last six matches across all competitions, while they have collected only two points from their last four league games.

Ivan Perisic's snapshot brought an early save out of Salvatore Sirigu, though Inter would have been behind had Albert Gudmundsson kept his cool when one-on-one with Samir Handanovic.

Inter's goalkeeper made a fantastic save in the 28th minute, sticking out his right hand despite leaning to his left to keep out Filippo Melegoni's swerving shot.

Denzel Dumfries sliced over and Edin Dzeko went close to connecting with Perisic's cross before half-time, while Nicolo Barella blazed over shortly after the break.

Having only come on in the 53rd minute, Genoa's Andrea Cambiaso had to go off in the 60th after he appeared to suffer a knee injury while blocking Hakan Calhanoglu's close-range strike.

Calhanoglu turned provider for Inter's best chance when his corner was met by D'Ambrosio, but the bar denied the defender, with Sirigu reacting sharply to clear the rebound as the deadlock remained unbroken.

Milan produced a flat display as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Udinese on Friday, handing the initiative in the title race to Inter.

Stefano Pioli's men were rarely dominant in San Siro and subsequently passed up the opportunity to potentially finish the weekend five points clear at the summit.

Rafael Leao gave Milan the lead with a well-taken goal, but clear-cut chances for the home side were otherwise a rarity.

Udinese were good value for their equaliser through Iyenoma Udogie just past the hour, and Milan were lacking the requisite drive to retake the lead as they slumped to a disappointing draw.

Milan's start was hardly emphatic but they weathered some early pressure and went ahead before the half-hour mark, Leao brilliantly bringing down Sandro Tonali's deep cross before coolly slotting past Marco Silvestri.

The contest opened up more as the half progressed but Beto wasted a decent opportunity for the visitors as he headed straight at Mike Maignan.

Tolgay Arslan shot just wide of the right-hand post and Rodrigo Becao saw a deflected effort saved by Maignan as Udinese threatened twice in quick succession around the hour.

Another opportunity went begging soon after as Nahuel Molina questionably attempted a cut-back in the box when he had only Maignan to beat, albeit from a slightly tight angle.

The deserved equaliser did arrive in the 66th minute, though, Udogie nudging over the line after fellow substitute Roberto Pereyra sent an overhead-kick goalwards.

Leao might have made it 2-1 14 minutes from time, but the ball would not drop quickly enough for him after flicking over Silvestri, and Nehuen Perez cleared for Udinese.

Cristiano Ronaldo acknowledged that he will not "be playing for many more years" but insisted he has the desire to win more.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has tasted success in England, Spain, Italy and on the international stage with Portugal.

The 37-year-old boasts the all-time scoring records in the Champions League and men's international football.

But the Manchester United forward wants to keep adding to that illustrious list of achievements as he heads into the twilight of his career.

"It's hard to say that I don’t want to win more," Ronaldo told DAZN in an interview published on Friday.

"If I'm at a club and I'm part of a national team that gives me the opportunity to win more, then why not?

"I know that I’m not going to be playing for many more years, hopefully about four or five more years, we'll see. But I want to win more."

Ronaldo recently endured a lean run of scoring form, failing to find the net in six appearances in all competitions during January and February – his longest run without club goal since a seven-game streak in December 2008 and January 2009.

But he ended that spell with a goal against Brighton and Hove Albion on February 15, taking his tally to 15 in 29 appearances across all competitions this season, and Ronaldo suggested he will carry on playing for as long as he enjoys to.

"I follow my own path, working on a daily basis, still trying to improve in every way and looking after myself both physically and mentally," he added.

"I'm quite old for football. In the past, great players used to play until they were older, but they didn't have as many games as we do.

"I've already reached that number [1,000 games], but like I mentioned, taking care of my body, continuing to work, and having the same enthusiasm as I used to, I can still give it all.

"Most importantly, I continue to enjoy what I do."

Ronaldo's impact has not just aided United in their fight for Champions League qualification, but his influence has also rubbed off on other players, such as Jadon Sancho.

"It is great to play next to someone who people call the GOAT [greatest of all time], so it is actually kind of crazy," Sancho told BBC Sport.

"When he first came into the dressing room I was kind of stunned. I couldn't believe that I was going to be playing alongside him.

"To have him around is fantastic, he is a great player and is a great guy. He always wants to win and for the younger players he is always helping us learn new things, telling us what to do and how to do things to make things better.

"Just being aware what is going on [he can help with] because he has been in the game for so long and he has that experience of how to beat players and to know where to be at the right time, like when a ball is being delivered and things like that.

"He is just a magician. I really appreciate him for that and he is just a great guy overall."

Ronaldo and Sancho will be hoping to partner up for more United success when Ralf Rangnick's side host Watford on Saturday.

United have never lost a home league game against Watford (W11 D2) – no side have they faced more at home in their league history without suffering defeat.

Massimiliano Allegri insisted it is "actually impossible" for Juventus to recover to win the Scudetto as he previewed Saturday's clash with Empoli.

The Bianconeri have enjoyed an upturn in form since struggling at the start of the Serie A campaign, sitting in fourth as they fight with Atalanta for the final Champions League qualification spot.

Juve are also still in Europe's elite competition – their last-16 tie with Villarreal finely poised after a 1-1 draw in the first leg – and the Coppa Italia, where they face Fiorentina in a two-legged semi-final clash across March and April.

Allegri was quick to quash suggestions Juve – who are unbeaten in 12 Serie A games – can still win the Scudetto this season, revealing he may rest either Dusan Vlahovic or Alvaro Morata on Saturday as he eyes success elsewhere.

"Tomorrow, Moise Kean could play. If he does, one of Vlahovic or Alvaro Morata will rest," Allegri said at Friday's pre-match news conference.

"Kean always has chances to score, so I am very calm. We are fighting on all fronts, even if the Scudetto is hard. Actually, impossible.

"We are out of the title race, I think that 85 points will be enough to win the title and we can't reach that. We have a Coppa Italia semi-final against Fiorentina and the Champions League against Villarreal.

"At the moment, it's a good season. Let's see which trophies we can lift, it's not easy to win every year. The important thing is to improve, but we have to do more in some situations."

Juve could be 12 points adrift of leaders Milan by the time they are next in action, given Stefano Pioli's men host Udinese on Friday.

Juve have won each of their last four top-flight visits to Empoli and Aurelio Andreazzoli's side are winless in nine Serie A matches, their longest such streak since November 2018, but Allegri is aware of the threat they could pose.

"We lost in the reverse fixture and it's never easy to play at Empoli," he added.

"We need to give continuity to our recent results. We need solid performance and recharge batteries, physically and mentally.

"Empoli have three offensive players, it's difficult to play against them. They have no problems in the table, we know that we must win tomorrow.

"We made many mistakes in Spain and didn't make the most of some opportunities.

"We must understand the right moment to 'kill' the opponents. We were doing well against Villarreal, but then we conceded a goal because we were too naive.

"When you play at a high level, you can't give your opponents the chance to get back in the game."

Allegri will have to do without several key figures as well, with Weston McKennie, Paulo Dybala, Alex Sandro, and Giorgio Chiellini heading a growing list of absentees.

Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino is unconcerned by recent wastefulness in front of goal and believes his star-studded attack will soon click.

PSG suffered just their second league loss of the season at Nantes last week, going down 3-1 despite creating plenty of chances and finishing the match with an expected goals (xG) of 3.8, with Neymar missing a second-half penalty after the Parisians had found themselves three goals down.

The Ligue 1 leaders also missed a penalty in their recent 1-0 Champions League win over Real Madrid, with Lionel Messi failing to beat Thibaut Courtois on a night where they had 1.88 xG to their opponents' 0.14.

However, Pochettino has faith that his attacking endeavours will be rewarded.

"I'm not worried when we don't score. I would worry if we didn't get chances," Pochettino told a news conference ahead of this weekend's game with Saint-Etienne.

"We have talented players, who can score at any time. 

"This week, we emphasised work. We must improve the balance in our play, the defensive transitions, controlling space. 

"With the team we have, there is no doubt in my mind that we'll find that clinical streak."

Although PSG boast a 13-point lead at the top of Ligue 1, they have won just five of their last 10 league games, drawing four and losing one. 

Meanwhile, with defender Sergio Ramos close to resuming training after a calf injury, Pochettino expressed his frustration at the injury woes which have blighted the Real Madrid legend this season, with Ramos making just two Ligue 1 starts since joining the club last summer.

"The person who suffers most from him not being available to play is him," the PSG boss added.

"We are trying to help him. We have great medical staff who are trying to give him the best possible treatment to deal with this type of situation. We're here to give him moral and psychological support. 

"It's always difficult for an injured player. A footballer needs to be part of the competition, of the squad too, on big days. All of that creates cohesion with the squad."

PSG are looking to defend a proud record against Saint-Etienne in their next outing, having won 42 of their 80 Ligue 1 games against them (25 draws and 13 losses). Only against Metz have they won more top-flight matches (43).

Christian Eriksen will make his return to football when he is handed his Brentford debut against Newcastle United on Saturday, Bees head coach Thomas Frank has confirmed.

The Denmark international has not featured in a competitive game since collapsing at Euro 2020 in late June against Finland after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Eriksen subsequently underwent an operation to have an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) fitted, which left him unable to feature for former club Inter due to Serie A rulings on playing with such a device.

The midfielder built up his fitness with boyhood club Odense and Ajax's reserve side before penning a six-month contract with Brentford in January.

Eriksen has appeared twice for Brentford's 'B' team, in friendlies against Southend United and Rangers, and Frank has now confirmed that the 30-year-old will feature for the first team against Newcastle.

"Christian will be in the squad and he will get on the pitch tomorrow," Frank said at Friday's pre-match news conference.

"It is a big day for all of us but especially Christian and his family when he walks out onto the pitch. 

"For everyone involved in football who saw what happened, it's another one of those reminders that we are privileged to do what we do and be alive and we need to appreciate every day and every moment."

Eriksen's comeback will provide Brentford with a much-needed boost as the Bees continue to slide towards the relegation zone after failing to win in seven top-flight outings.

Frank's side sit four points above the final relegation spot occupied by Burnley, who have played three games fewer.

Eriksen appeared 226 times in the English top flight for former club Tottenham, where he still holds the record at Spurs for most assists in a single Premier League campaign, recording 15 during the 2016-17 season.

During his spell with the north London club between September 2013 and January 2020, Eriksen scored the most goals from outside the box (23), made the most assists (62) and created the most chances (571) of any player in that time.

Liverpool's "one club mentality" has been proven by their run to the EFL Cup final, according to Jurgen Klopp's assistant Pep Lijnders.

Reds assistant coach Lijnders has taken all of the pre-match news conferences ahead of EFL Cup games this season and Liverpool saw no reason to break with that tradition ahead of Sunday's clash with Chelsea at Wembley.

It will be the third major final between the sides, with Chelsea winning the previous two meetings – 3-2 in the 2004-05 EFL Cup and 2-1 in the 2011-12 FA Cup.

Liverpool, however, are in the hunt for a record ninth EFL Cup crown, with their last success in the competition coming in 2012 via a penalty shoot-out win over Cardiff City. This is their 13th final in the competition – at least four more than any other side – though their first since 2016, when they lost to Manchester City.

Lijnders believes Liverpool have blended youth and experience perfectly throughout their run to Wembley, and thinks this is a sign the Reds are now a truly elite club.

"We have tradition in both, history in both [cup competitions]," he said.

"This is a competition where we want to bring young talent to showcase, that's really important.

"If you look at the best teams in the world, what do they have in common? It is the one club mentality and this journey in the EFL Cup shows we have exactly that.

"Now we are two days away from a final and we want to go into it with all we have, make it a proper game, we can't wait of course to go to Wembley, see all the fans, hear them, feel them.

"For the whole club it is a big compliment. This competition is so much more than just the first team, it was a proper compliment to our academy as well.

"We have to be spot on but we really look forward to it. We don't want to be the best team in the world, but we want to be the team that is capable of the best teams in the world."

Lijnders has come more into the foreground this season, at least in terms of his media duties, but he emphasised the importance of Klopp's entire backroom team as Liverpool aim to win a third major trophy under the German.

"Jurgen is so much more than a colleague, I am really grateful and happy with the way we work together," Lijnders added.

"It's not just me and him, it's so much more backroom staff who constantly are in our ears to make decisions or put us to the right path. Our togetherness comes from something.

"If you have a group of staff that show leadership it is probably the most powerful tool, we want our team to see how we are and it is important that they see that the manager, assistant manager, the other assistants, all of us are so close. There's a team behind the team and a manager is as good as the team behind the team."

Liverpool, however, will not be changing their routine just because they are playing in a final.

"When we started this project, we came to the conclusion that the way to be successful was just to focus on the next game," Lijnders said.

"Our group created the mentality that each next game was a final, or we could never have reached the levels we reached. We see each game literally as a final so nothing changes. We really see each game as a final, believe me."

It was a sentiment echoed by captain Jordan Henderson, who said: "Nothing different to what I normally do. Yes, it's a cup final, you get everything around that, but you have to treat it as any other game. We'll give everything, hopefully that's enough for us to win the trophy."

Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel suggested Liverpool are slight favourites ahead of the EFL Cup final, but says it will be a "pleasure" to face off against his compatriot Jurgen Klopp.

Chelsea are facing the Reds in a major final for the third time in their history - excluding the Community Shield and the UEFA Super Cup - with the Blues winning on both previous occasions, 3-2 in the 2005 EFL Cup final and 2-1 in 2012's FA Cup showpiece. 

But with Liverpool on a run of nine consecutive wins in all competitions and on the hunt for an unprecedented quadruple, Tuchel believes that Klopp's team should be considered slight favourites on Sunday.

"I think maybe 50 to 55 per cent, they are the favourites, because of their recent form and their recent results", the 48-year-old said at Friday's pre-match news conference.

"It's a big challenge, a big occasion, and we feel competitive. It's a pleasure to meet Jurgen in a final at Wembley. We are very grateful for the chance.

"Playing against teams coached by Jurgen is not only about pleasure, because they give you a very hard time!

"But we have things to draw on, we have experienced tight matches against Liverpool, I think the last three were draws. 

"That won't happen this time, there will be a winner somehow, but we know what it takes in a tough match against them, and we feel confident that we have what it takes. 

"It's the same for them, and it's nice to have a match like this in a final."

Sunday's outing will represent Chelsea's ninth final appearance in the competition's history, and the Blues have won the EFL Cup on five occasions, with only Manchester City and Liverpool (both eight) posting more triumphs.

Tuchel was also asked about the condition of striker Romelu Lukaku, who was dropped for Chelsea's 2-0 Champions League victory over Lille, after he managed just seven touches in a 1-0 Premier League win over Crystal Palace.

The German boss questioned whether too much focus has been placed on Lukaku in recent weeks, and refused to engage with speculation that he was unsettled.

"I would say [he has been] good, like everybody else," Tuchel responded when asked about the Belgium striker. 

"You know, I know, he's an important player, if you pay a lot of money these days for one single player there's a lot of focus on the player. Sometimes it's not fair, sometimes it's a bit too much.

"I did not read the headlines. This is maybe the best thing to do. I trust my players and their focus.

"What other choice is there? There is no transfer period right now and everybody is hugely involved in the goals that we want to achieve together.

"The truth is we can only achieve them together, and we can only achieve them with a strong Romelu, a strong Jorginho, a strong everybody."

Liverpool will monitor the fitness of Diogo Jota ahead of their EFL Cup final against Chelsea on Sunday, but Reds assistant manager Pep Ljinders confirmed Roberto Firmino is out of contention.

Jota and Firmino suffered knocks against Inter in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash on February 16, and subsequently missed Premier League wins over Norwich City and Leeds United.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp conceded that the pair were both doubts for the final before the Leeds' game, in which fellow attackers Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane netted two goals each.

Ljinders provided another update on the duo on Friday as he offered faint hope that Jota could play some part against Thomas Tuchel's men.

"Bobby [Firmino] we will have to see in the next two days, he's pushing himself really hard, but he will not be available for the final, to reach the squad," Ljinders said.
 
"We hope he will be back really soon because you all see and feel how important he is for our way of playing. [We are] happy that he's pushing himself, hopefully he's soon back.
 
"Jota, there has been so far no reaction on the things he did – the straight-line running, the little ball work he did, so that's a good sign. He isn't ruled out but it will still be a challenge."

The Reds will be hoping Jota can beat the clock to feature, given he could become only the second ever Liverpool player to score in each of the quarter-final, semi-final and final of the competition in a single season (replays included), after Kenny Dalglish in 1980-81.

Nevertheless, Klopp's side will be left in capable hands even without Jota, with new boy Luis Diaz, Salah and Mane to call upon in the frontline.

Mane has scored eight goals against Chelsea in all competitions, only netting more in his career in England against Crystal Palace (13), while Salah leads the Premier League scoring charts with 19 this term.

The Senegal international, however, is yet to score an EFL Cup goal for the Reds in three previous appearances for them in the competition, the most recent of which was against Chelsea in the 2018-19 third round.

Thomas Tuchel hopes to have a fully-fit Chelsea squad for the EFL Cup final against Liverpool after Hakim Ziyech and Mateo Kovacic recovered from knocks, while Reece James could also return.

Ziyech and Kovacic were both doubtful for the Wembley showpiece after picking up injuries in Chelsea's routine 2-0 Champions League win over Lille in midweek, while James has not appeared since December 29.

Chelsea are seeking their fourth trophy under Tuchel, having already won the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup.

The Blues will also be the first team in English football history to compete in one of the major domestic cup finals (League Cup/FA Cup) in six consecutive campaigns on Sunday, having reached FA Cup finals in 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021, and EFL Cup finals in 2019 and 2022.

The Chelsea head coach's cause has been aided by the return of several key figures ahead of the clash with Jurgen Klopp's side.

"We had training today with everybody out on the pitch, except for Ben Chilwell," Tuchel said at Friday's pre-match news conference. "It's brilliant news.

"Both [Ziyech and Kovacic] are okay, today they were not out training with separate programmes, everybody joined in with team training.

"We have no [bad] reactions, only positive reactions. I hope it will stay like this. We have another training session tomorrow, but we hope to have everybody available."

James recorded four goals and five assists in the first half of the Premier League season, and could provide another boost for Tuchel, who remains excited by the prospect of the wing-back's return. 

However, the German boss conceded that he was unsure whether James would be fit enough to start at Wembley.

"He looked brilliant in the last two training sessions," he added. "Let's wait another session and let's see if I'm crazy enough to put him on the pitch!"

Tuchel was guarded as to which of his goalkeepers would start against the Reds, with Kepa Arrizabalaga starting all five matches in the competition so far, while Edouard Mendy has starred in trophy wins for both club and country in 2022.

Asked about the goalkeeper decision, Tuchel responded: "I will not tell you. I will take the decision later. 

"Kepa played in the Club World Cup semi-final and brought us to the final, but then we took the decision to go with Edou for the final, who was back from the Africa Cup of Nations.

"The last decision will be taken after training, as always. Kepa did fantastic in the period that we had to be without Edou, so it's [both] an uncomfortable and very comfortable situation to be in."

Kepa refused to be substituted as Chelsea were beaten on their last EFL Cup final appearance, losing on penalties to Manchester City in 2019 under Maurizio Sarri.

But the goalkeeper has impressed with two clean sheets in four league appearances during Mendy's recent stint on international duty, leaving Tuchel with options heading into the domestic final.