The stage is set at Wembley Stadium for the 2012 Carling Cup Final on Sunday at 16:00 GMT in which Championship club Cardiff City and English Premier League power Liverpool will battle on the pitch for the Football League Cup.
The Bluebirds were dealt a relatively favorable hand on the way to London, needing to overcome but one Premiership side (Blackburn Rovers) in pursuit of their first League Cup.The Reds, meanwhile, had to outlast the likes of Stoke City, Chelsea and Manchester City on the path to their eighth Carling Cup and what may turn out to be their first new piece of hardware of any kind since 2006.
Luis Suarez has been nothing if not a lightning rod of controversy this season.
His ongoing racial row with Manchester United's Patrice Evra has brought shame and humiliation upon one of England's proudest and most historic clubs.
Leading Liverpool to a win at Wembley would go a long way toward restoring Luisito's honor, respect and credibility with the Reds, who last lifted the League Cup in 2003.