FeatureCarabao Cup final: The view from Chelsea with Omid Djalili

Liverpool meet familiar opposition again at Wembley on Sunday afternoon, looking to make it a third successive win over the Blues in the showpiece of a competition at the national stadium.

Read on for our light-hearted chat with Djalili as he offers his predictions for this latest encounter and pinpoints the player from Mauricio Pochettino's squad who could be crucial…

How are you feeling about heading into another cup final with Liverpool?

I'm nervous, preparing myself for depression, preparing myself for frustration, preparing myself for hopes and then hopes getting dashed. Although I do feel there's no way it's going to be 0-0 this time. Two 0-0 finals was unheard of. I'm actually not going to watch it. I have made a point of not watching it. It's a testament to football that with all the upheavals going on in the world that we still love football and that we still follow it, love it. I'm not going to watch it because I don't need any more unnecessary stress in my life. It's the first time I've actively avoided a final because otherwise I'm going to get ill!

In a previous life, when you would watch these big games, what were you like for them?

I used to get very nervous, have a pre-match meal. I'd get really up for the final. My whole day would be centred around it. I would say I was a football fanatic. I wanted to remember every single moment that in this minute this happened and remember when it happened. I would memorise games, I'd even read reports afterwards to see if it corresponded with my memories. I was always up for it. Now it's like, 'Oh God no.' I've actually scheduled afternoon gigs on Sunday. I'm not kidding. Totally avoiding it.

How do you think Sunday's final will play out?

I avoided the Man City-Chelsea game and all my WhatsApp groups were like, 'What are you doing?' They all said to have some belief. I said, 'Secretly I feel like [Raheem] Sterling and Cole Palmer will go back to Man City and do something.' And they did. I have a feeling Chelsea will raise their game. They always seem to raise their game against the big teams. The first game of the season down at Stamford Bridge, Liverpool went 1-0 up and I felt like switching off when Liverpool had another goal chalked off. But somehow the team roared back and it finished 1-1. It was a great spectacle. I just feel Liverpool have got too much for them but I think Chelsea will definitely give Liverpool a game and it will be some kind of spectacle. It'll be a fantastic three minutes on YouTube highlights, that's for sure!

Quite a bit has changed – on both sides – since those last Wembley meetings...

The Chelsea team is completely different. The Liverpool team has been added to. Conor Bradley is fantastic. I never thought you'd even need another right-back. But now that Trent [Alexander-Arnold] has gone into midfield, maybe you do need some young players coming through. The Chelsea team has totally changed and it seems like the whole club has had a change in ethos. They've gone off in different directions. Chelsea have Pochettino, they're playing to some kind of system [and] I just think they'll give Liverpool a game and it'll be a really good game. It won't be 4-1 or 5-3 as it's been up at Anfield recently. It'll be very exciting but I can't see anything other than a Liverpool win.

Who's the Chelsea player Liverpool should be wary of most?

Not to give you any inside information but nothing I can tell you that you wouldn't already know! He made his debut at Anfield – Mykhailo Mudryk showed so much promise last season. He won't start but he'll come on in the second half. He's due a moment. When he puts the afterburners on, he is quick and he does have skill. He's due to do something major and I wonder if this is the moment.

And if you could insert any Liverpool player into Pochettino's squad, who would that be?

I think Virgil van Dijk would be everyone's dream centre-back. But then again, I would say Conor Bradley is someone who's really impressed me. Or Harvey Elliott – I think he's really going to be something.

Finally, I know you're not watching the game but what's your head and your heart predicting you'll see when you summon the courage to pick up your phone and check the score?

I think it'll be 2-2 and it'll go to penalties and Liverpool win again on penalties, unfortunately! But my hope is that it's 0-0 and it goes to penalties and Chelsea nick it with a goal from the goalkeeper. I'd love the goalkeeper to score this time because our one missed last time and that was a new pain I'd never experienced before. Another reason not to watch!

• Follow the Carabao Cup final with a free MyLFC account on LFCTV GO – including pre-match build-up from Wembley, live audio commentary of the game, a full match replay on Sunday evening, and more.