Pochettino explains why he didn’t feature Thiago Silva in Carabao Cup final
The squad named for today’s showpiece match at Wembley does not contain the Brazilian defender, who suffered a groin injury in our recent victory over Crystal Palace.
Silva was involved in partial team training in the build-up to today’s final but has not won his race to be fit.
Instead, Alex Disasi and Levi Colwill will be our central defensive partnership with Malo Gusto at right-back and Ben Chilwell, who captains the Blues, at left-back.
‘He [Thiago Silva] didn’t feel comfortable after the training yesterday,’ explained Pochettino. ‘He came back off the field not in a condition where he could be involved today. That is why we don’t have him and he is not in the squad.
‘It is always important to have experienced players because they can translate that experience to others. But we know the circumstances and we need to compete. For sure, we believe we can be very competitive.’
Pochettino also insisted his team won’t be affected by our previous meeting with Liverpool in the Premier League at Anfield last month.
‘I think we are better after these three weeks. The team has started to think positive things and that is good. We arrive with good momentum but we need to show character and translate it to the pitch.
‘It’s always important toplay a final. I think this was the first achievement. It is nice to arrive here and enjoy it, but now it is about winning it.’
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