Chelsea welcome Jurgen Klopp and his men to London today as they get set to take on Liverpool in Antonio Conte’s biggest test as Chelsea manager till date.
The gameweek kicks off with the biggest fixture of this round of Premier League matches as Antonio Conte’s Chelsea take on Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. Chelsea are undefeated this season under Conte. However, this clash is the biggest of Antonio Conte’s fledgling Chelsea career and the kind of challenge that the Italian will relish as they look to prolong their undefeated streak for another week. The Blues have seen off challenges from West Ham, Watford, Burnley, Bristol Rovers with less than convincing victories, and going into this tie they were held to a draw by Swansea at the Liberty Stadium thanks to some questionable refereeing.
Jurgen Klopp’s side, on the other hand, have had a mixed start to the season. They kicked off with the thrilling victory against Arsenal at the Emirates but that was followed by a shock defeat against Burnley. They got back to winning ways with a 5-0 demolition of Burton Albion in the second round of the Football League Cup, but could only manage a draw against Tottenham in the following week. Post the international break, a rejuvenated Liverpool came back and thrashed reigning Premier League Champions Leicester City in their first home game of the season. It was the perfect display of attacking football, and one that would have given the Reds a huge confidence boost going into this tie.
Tactics
Chelsea
John Terry will miss this crucial tie after picking up an ankle injury against Swansea in the previous gameweek, which saw the Chelsea skipper leave the Liberty Stadium on crutches. With Kurt Zouma still out with a long term injury, David Luiz is set to start in the center of defence alongside Gary Cahill. Marcos Alonso is unlikely to start ahead of Cesar Azpilicueta but may feature in some capacity later in the game.
Conte wouldn’t want to fix something that isn’t broken, so Kante will be the defensive midfielder who will screen the defence while Nemanja Matic and Oscar would be stationed in front of him. Cesc Fabregas is expected to start on the bench once again for this tie in order to provide the Blues with a bit more defensive stability in the middle of the park, but may feature in the end to provide a more creative attacking outlet.
Willian and Eden Hazard on the wings and Diego Costa will start upfront in attack ahead of Michy Batshuayi. Despite encouraging performances from Pedro, Batshuayi and Moses almost every time they’ve been on the pitch, it is unlikely they will start, but are likely to feature toward the end of the game should the Blues require more firepower in their attack.
Predicted Starting XI (4-1-4-1): Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill, David Luiz, Branislav Ivanovic; N’golo Kante; Eden Hazard, Nemanja Matic, Oscar, Willian; Diego Costa
Liverpool
Emre Can is back from injury, but Jurgen Klopp wouldn’t want to risk him immediately. Coutinho and Dejan Lovren have returned as well and the latter will take his place in the center of defence alongside Joel Matip. James Milner is once again expected to start over Alberto Moreno at left back, something that Willian and Branislav Ivanovic will be keen to exploit.
Due to Emre Can’s continued absence, Jordan Henderson will retain his role in the starting XI in the middle of the park between Georginio Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana. The Liverpool captain has considerably improved in that position under Klopp and the midfield trio shows a lot of promise.
Klopp will be faced with a selection dilemma upfront after Firmino, Sturridge and Mane put up a stellar attacking display as the Reds dismantled Leicester City 4-1. With Mane almost impossible to replace, Coutinho may come in for Sturridge, with Firmino moving into the center forward role. The other possibility is one Brazilian making way for the other on the left wing and Coutinho starting in place of Firmino. However, in the rare occasion of Sturridge being fit and arguably the most clinical finisher in Liverpool’s ranks, a start against his former side seems to be the most logical choice. Firmino’s two goals against Leicester surely warrants a start in attack and it is likely that the former Hoffenheim attacker will start at Stamford Bridge.
Predicted Starting XI (4-3-3): Simon Mignolet; James Milner; Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip, Nathniel Clyne; Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana; Roberto Firmino, Daniel Sturridge, Saido Mane
Key Statistics
- With 50 goals in 2016, Liverpool have scored more Premier League goals than any other top-flight club this calendar year.
- Burnley are the first team to stop Liverpool from scoring in the Premier League since 2nd February 2016.
- Chelsea’s clean sheet against Burnley was only their second in 22 games in all competitions.
- The 7 fouls on Diego Costa in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against Swansea was the most suffered by a player in a Premier League game this season.
- David Luiz will be the 13th player to return to Chelsea for a second spell, should he make his debut against Liverpool today.
Players To Watch
Chelsea: Diego Costa
The Spanish international has been in stellar form for the Blues this season. The former Atletico man seems to have put his troubles from the last campaign aside. After a summer rife with speculation about his future, Costa has hit the ground running and is Chelsea’s top scorer so far this season. The 27-year-old has been rejuvenated by Antonio Conte and has 4 Premier League goals and an assist this season in his first 4 games. These include the last minute winners against West Ham and Watford and also his vital equalizer against Swansea in their previous fixture. Liverpool will be wary of the threat posed by the Brazilian born hitman and he will certainly be keeping Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip on their toes.
Liverpool: Saido Mane
It’s fair to say that more than a few eyebrows were raised when Liverpool decided to part with £36m in order to bring the 24-year-old to Anfield in the summer, when the likes of Manchester United and Leicester City were breaking records for their transfers. But since the start of the season, the Senegalese international has been outstanding for Jurgen Klopp and has taken to the German’s explosive attacking philosophy in superb fashion. Mane began the season by scoring the winner against Arsenal at the Emirates and he hasn’t looked back since. He averages 2.7 tackles per game, which is more than any other Liverpool attacking player, and has the most number of successful dribbles and fouls won per game for a Liverpool player this season. He was sorely missed in their shock defeat to Burnley and had outstanding games against Leicester City and Burton Albion. Azpilicueta and Hazard may have their hands full.
Prediction
Chelsea 2-2 Liverpool
With both teams almost at full strength, it’s sure to be hard fought battle between the two English heavyweights, but all eyes will be on Antonio Conte and Jurgen Klopp as the world will wait to see which master tactician gets the better of the other. Chelsea and Liverpool both have a superb array of attacking talent in their roster which are capable of producing moments of magic, but their leaky defences should pose as a problem for both managers. With goals expected from both sides, it is going to be a battle of who can concede lesser.
