Head coach Mauricio Pochettino has suggested that Chelsea's heavy Premier League defeat to Liverpool last month acted as a blessing in disguise.
The Blues made the trip to Anfield on January 31 on the back of three successive Premier League victories and a goalless draw against Aston Villa in the FA Cup.
However, Chelsea were overpowered by the Premier League leaders, going down by a 4-1 scoreline which kept the club firmly in mid-table.
Although the West Londoners would lose 4-2 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers four days later, Pochettino's side have since responded with an impressive three-game undefeated streak.
As well as defeating Villa and Crystal Palace by 3-1 scorelines on away territory, Chelsea travelled to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City last weekend and returned with a 1-1 draw.
Three-and-a-half weeks on from their drubbing on Merseyside, Chelsea are preparing to face Liverpool in the EFL Cup final on Sunday afternoon.
Chelsea have failed to defeat Liverpool in their last eight meetings in all competitions, a period that includes two penalty-shootout losses in cup finals at Wembley.
Nevertheless, Pochettino feels that Chelsea have 'woken' up from their struggles since his arrival, his side having failed to go more than four matches without suffering defeat all season.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference, the Argentine said: "It's never the same approach playing in the Premier League and in the final and in a neutral place like Wembley is different. You always learn from the games you play, too many things.
"Of course we arrive in this game with different circumstances and now it is difficult to compare and say that it will have influence on the games that we played in the past. What you learn is Liverpool are a competitive team. They can play well, so well, not so well, not so good. But they are always competitive and we need to match that.
"We need to manage moments during the games and I think in the last few weeks we learn a lot. We are in a good moment, arrive in a good condition and I think the games against Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Manchester City provided the team with confidence and trust.
"The team starts to be awake in the competition. It's a click to change that we are missing in the early part of the competition."
Pochettino also revealed at the media briefing that Thiago Silva would continue to be assessed ahead of the game, with the Brazilian having missed the fixture at Man City with a groin injury sustained on February 12 versus Palace. body check tags ::
