Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has been backed to ‘hurt’ Liverpool when the two sides meet in the FA Cup final this weekend.
The two sides are set to meet at Wembley tomorrow evening, the second time they have met in a cup final this year after Liverpool won the Carabao Cup earlier this year.
The Reds will head into this game as favourites once again, having challenged on all fronts this season, while Chelsea have struggled to find their best form under Thomas Tuchel.
One of the key issues for the Blues has been the form of Romelu Lukaku, who has failed to live up to the hype after his €100m plus move from Inter Milan in the summer.
He’s spent most of the campaign out of the picture but has returned to form in recent weeks with a double against Wolves and another goal against Leeds.
It means he could be chosen to lead the line in Saturday’s final, and former Liverpool man Erik Meijer believes he can do plenty of damage.
“After we saw little of him at first, he now has more confidence. And when strikers have confidence, they score. He’s one who can hurt Virgil van Dijk,” he told Kicker.
Chelsea will certainly be hoping that is the case, with a player like Lukaku key to defining what will likely be a tight affair.
Meetings between Liverpool and Chelsea have been close contests since Thomas Tuchel arrived at Stamford Bridge in January 2021.
Since then, there has been a 1-0 win for Chelsea, followed by a 1-1 draw at Anfield, a 2-2 draw a Stamford Bridge earlier this year and then the Carabao Cup final, which ended 0-0 and was settled on penalties.
This weekend’s FA Cup final is likely to follow a similar path, at least as far as Meijer is concerned.
“It’s all very close and even, with two great teams facing each other on Saturday,” he added.
“Chelsea didn’t win the Champions League in 2021 by chance either. It will be an interesting chess match.
“I suspect Liverpool will have the ball more often, and Thomas Tuchel will like to see that too, so he can then counter. However, both think offensively, so we can hope for many chances.”
