Chelsea vs Liverpool preview
The Premier League is scheduled to start on August 11, with all 20 teams being involved. Defending champions Manchester City will start their campaign on the road against Burnley, while Arsenal, who were their toughest rival in the title race, will welcome Nottingham Forest. However, the biggest clash on matchday one will be at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea take on Liverpool.
Last season was a season to forget for the Blues as they finished 12th despite splurging upward of €300 million. The spending has continued this season as they have spent over €200 million to bring in Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson, Lesley Ugochukwu, Robert Sanchez, and Angelo. In addition, they are still in the market for a midfielder, with the club currently in personal talks with Southampton’s Romeo Lavia.
On the other hand, Liverpool have managed to add Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister to their ranks but is still in the market for a player who could be Fabinho’s successor. However, their pursuit of a true number six had not yielded any success so far. That was until they swooped in at the last moment to hijack the deal for Brighton and Hove Albion’s Moises Caicedo, which is still in negotiations.
And it is under these circumstances that they will travel to face Pochettino’s men. However, on form, Liverpool were far better than Chelsea last season and, in the end, managed to finish fifth in the Premier League.
However, coming into the new season, it is difficult to judge how both teams will play given the influx of new players and, in Chelsea’s case, a new manager. Liverpool played five friendlies in the season, which does not give much indication of how the team will play.
On the other hand, Pochettino will also have a large group of players to choose from, and it will be interesting to see who makes the final cut.
Chelsea vs Liverpool lineups
Chelsea lineup
Despite splurging over €200 million in the current transfer market in addition to their exorbitant spending last summer, the Blues are still light in the field. This is why they are going after both Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo to further bulk up their options.
They also added shot-stopper Robert Sanchez to their squad as a replacement for Edouard Mendy. And he has the nod to start ahead of Kepa Arrizabalaga. In front of Sanchez will be the backline of Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella, Thiago Silva and Reece James. With both Lavia and Caicedo no anywhere near joining, the midfielder will consist of Enzo Fernandez, Andrey Santos and Carney Chukwuemeka behind Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk and new signing Nicolas Jackson.
Chelsea predicted lineup: Sanchez; Chilwell, Cucurella, Silva, James; Fernandez, Santos, Chukwuemeka; Sterling, Mudryk, Jackson.
Liverpool lineup
Going by the last season, Alisson Becker will start in goal behind a four-man backline of Andy Robertson, Virgil Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, and Trent Alexander Arnold. Ahead of them will be the trio of Curtis Jones, the new signings Szoboszlai and Mac Allister in the middle of the park. Mohamed Salah is expected to start alongside Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz in attack.
Many of these players played an essential role in the club friendlies and, on paper, are the strongest 11 available until Caicedo signs or Thiago Alcantara returns from injury.
Predicted Liverpool lineup: Alisson; Robertson, Van Dijk, Konate, Alexander Arnold; Jones, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Diaz, Nunez, Salah
Chelsea vs Liverpool predictions
Chelsea had a campaign to forget last season, as everything that could go wrong for them did go wrong. However, the club now has a manager in Pochettino who has a history of getting the best out of his players. However, he will still need one more signing before he can bid seriously for a Premier League title.
Moreover, the Moises Caicedo saga will also end by the time that game starts. The only question that remains is whether he will join Liverpool or Chelsea. Liverpool, on the other hand, have a better playing 11.
FootTheBall predicts a 2-1 win for Liverpool.
