The duo is well placed to offer plenty of insight into what it is like to compete in a League Cup final, having done so four times between them during their careers, as well as both having represented Chelsea and Sunday’s opponents Liverpool, and they will be sharing that wealth of experience on Matchday Live, which you can watch on the official Chelsea website and The 5th Stand app from 3.15pm UK time.

They have both already backed the Blues to lift the trophy on Sunday, with Johnson predicting a 2-1 win and Cole fancying Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out. You have until five minutes before kick-off to make your own predictions in Play Predictor on The 5th Stand.

Both players also won the competition together in 2005, when Chelsea lifted our first trophy under Jose Mourinho, with that year’s Carling Cup paving the way for our first top-flight league title for 50 years later that season, and all the success and silverware which followed.

Fittingly, that 2005 final saw us facing none other than Liverpool in something of a tense epic, as Chelsea went behind in the first minute before a Steven Gerrard own goal 10 minutes from the end sent the game into extra time.

It was just after that goal that Cole’s game ended, as he was substituted to be replaced by none other than Johnson, when Mourinho restored balance to his side with another defender after throwing on strikers as we chased the equaliser.

Once extra time started we were the only team in the game, a fact underlined when Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman both scored to give us a two-goal advantage which never looked under threat, despite Liverpool clawing one back late on through Antonio Nunez. Johnson also played a big part in us taking the lead, as it was his long throw which Liverpool failed to clear, allowing Drogba to slot in from close range.

Cole certainly has experience of the full range of emotions from a cup final due to his time with the Blues. When Chelsea reached the League Cup again two years later he had played his part in getting us through the early rounds, including scoring our first goal of that season’s competition in a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers, but a fractured foot meant he missed four months of action and was forced to watch on from the sidelines as we defeated Arsenal by the same scoreline in the final.

The winger had the chance to make up for it the next season, when we met another of our rivals from across London, Tottenham Hotspur, in the 2008 final. However, he was on the bench for the 1-1 draw in 90 minutes and was introduced as a substitute shortly after Jonathan Woodgate had put Spurs in front with a lucky ricochet off his face in extra time, a blow we were unable to recover from as we suffered defeat at Wembley.

Johnson had also missed the 2007 final win over Arsenal, as we was on loan at Portsmouth that season, a move he would make permanent in the summer. However, he did get another chance of glory in the League Cup in 2012 with Liverpool, after setting up Craig Bellamy for the decisive goal of their narrow semi-final win over Manchester City.

That year’s final went to extra time too, but this time Johnson was involved for the full 120 minutes as the Reds were held to a 2-2 draw by surprise finalists Cardiff City, who got their second equaliser in the 118th minute to send the game to penalties.

Johnson played a big part in the shoot-out as well, netting Liverpool’s fifth from the spot to put them ahead by one, before Anthony Gerrard – cousin of Reds captain Steven, who had missed their first attempt – failed to find the target, giving Liverpool the trophy and Johnson a 100 per cent record in League Cup finals.

That means Cole and Johnson have experienced the full range of emotions from League Cup finals, and they will be sharing it as part of a packed studio of guests, which includes fellow former Blues Claire Rafferty and Jason Cundy, on Sunday’s Matchday Live. You can watch from 3.15pm here on the official Chelsea website or via the Match Centre on The 5th Stand app.