The third week of PL Action is upon us and the high voltage match between Liverpool and Chelsea is just around the corner as the Blues prepare to maintain their Winning streak and are real title contenders for this season and a win in the Anfield will definitely give them huge confidence moving into the next matches. The Reds are also on a winning streak and won’t give up after two back-to-back wins against Norwich and Burnley. The Blues are going into the match after a brilliant dominating win over Arsenal at the Emirates by beating them 2-0.
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Tuchel’s men need to have a decent performance in order to beat Jurgen Klopp’s team at Anfield. Last Time Mason Mount’s solo goal finished the game off at Anfield. But this time the return of VanDijk and Gomez provides plenty of options for Jurgen Klopp to pick in the backline. The Blues will certainly find it difficult to break their defense. Chelsea also has a new reinforcement in the form of a new striker as Romelu Lukaku returns back to his former club. After playing for Inter Milan in Seria A, last season, he is making a comeback to the PL. Following his decent performance against the Gunners, he’ll look forward to scoring against a big team in a big match.
TEAM NEWS
LIVERPOOL
Liverpool comes into the competition with some concern but also has good news. Star Left-back Robertson claims he is available for the match after suffering a knee injury.
Suspension- NIL
Fabinho and Chamberlain- Both of them might miss the match due to personal issues.
Trent Alexander Arnold- Suffered a slight injury against Burnley but is expected to start the game against Chelsea.
Predicted Lineup
PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
MOHAMMED SALAH
The Egyptian king will definitely be the player to watch out for after having a brilliant start to the season. Against Norwich, he scored a goal. He also loves scoring against the Blues and not only scoring goals, but he also provides plenty of assists. This makes him one of the key players in the squad.
Trent Alexander Arnold
Arnold will definitely play a key role for Jurgen Klopp after having two decent games against Norwich and Burnley. In those two matches, he has been excellent both in defensive and offensive areas. With his pace and pinpoint crosses, he will be testing the backline of Chelsea. It will be difficult for Alonso to make those runs behind and by-pass him easily. , Thus it makes Arnold one of the key men to play a role for Klopp
CHELSEA
Chelsea doesn’t have much injury concerns traveling to Anfield but they’ll be missing out on two of their key players.
SUSPENSION- NIL
CHRISTIAN PULISIC- Pulisic tested positive for Covid before the match against Arsenal and will be out for the match.
HAKIM ZIYECH- Ziyech had suffered a serious injury in his right arm while playing against Villareal in the UEFA SUPER CUP final. He will not be available for Tuchel in the upcoming matches.
PREDICTED LINEUPS
PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
MASON MOUNT
Mason Mount will be the player to watch out for Chelsea. Last time when Chelsea traveled to Anfield his fantastic solo run and finishing gave them all 3 points. Apart from this, the Mount is also a regular goal scorer for Tuchel’s Team. It is will be quite interesting to see whether he can score more at Anfield or will Liverpool’s defense keep him quiet.
ROMELU LUKAKU
Last season Chelsea struggled with a proper striker as Timo Werner failed to deliver after so many expectations. So this summer Chelsea brought Romelu Lukaku who will be wearing the Number 9 this season. Lukaku will look forward to scoring many more goals. He also had an excellent debut against Arsenal where he scored 1 goal., Moreover, his finishing and physicality will make life difficult for the Liverpool backline, which definitely makes him a key player.
HEAD TO HEAD
- Liverpool have lost just 2 of their last 13 meetings against Chelsea.
- The Reds ( W- 6 L- 2 D- 5 )
- Liverpool have fired the most shots so far in this season (46)
- Chelsea have faced the fewest shots in their two games(10)
Crucial factors of this clash
1. The Shaky defense
While Chelsea has been absolutely wonderful in this season so far, one aspect where it does not seem quite so good is the defense. In the game against Villarreal, the Blues were far from their best and their defense was getting sliced open time and again. The men in yellow hit the post twice before scoring a lovely goal from within the box. Although the English side went onto win the SuperCup via a penalty shootout, there was a clear problem in the defense.
However, in the game against Arsenal, there were a few issues. Although the Blues went on to win in dominant fashion, the Gunners did ask a few questions. They got behind the Chelsea defense a number of times. Firstly, Marcos Alonso being so high up the pitch was always asking for trouble. Nicolas Pepe exploited the left flank a few times and even left Alonso on the floor in one run. As James was playing in a more advanced position, he was unable to track every cross sent to his flank. This allowed the likes of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe to sneak behind the defense a few times.
But bad touches from the Arsenal players—along with good defending from Cesar Azpillicueta—gave Chelsea the clean sheet. It although can’t make the same mistakes against the Liverpool front three. The trio of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Roberto Firmino is deadly. There are a lot of good things to talk about within the current Chelsea team. However, the Blues need to improve upon their flawed areas, as well. If they don’t have an air-tight defense, the title could slip out of their hands quite easily as the season progresses.
2. Super Reece
The Blues had a fantastic game against their arch-rivals last weekend and the whole team performed brilliantly. However, there were two players who stood out the most, Lukaku and Reece James. While the former only managed to score one goal, the latter scored a goal and even racked up one assist. James was simply on a different level last weekend. He played like a proper wingback, constantly supporting the attack, and he exploited the space left by Kieran Tierney time and time again.
James’s communication with his new teammate (Lukaku) was great and his chemistry with his childhood friend, Mount, helped him score one. He was hard-working and physical throughout the game and even tracked back to cover his man as much as he could. However, his performance against the north London side was even better. Spectators can’t wait to see him tear up the right flank against Liverpool.
3. THE TRIO ATTACK
The attack of Salah, Mane, and Jota will definitely be a threat to the shaky defense of Chelsea. They had 2 back to back good games as all three of them were on the scoresheet. Tuchel might go with 3 at the back in order to stop this dangerous attack. Last time Mane scored 2 goals at Stamford Bridge and it’ll definitely be there in the minds of the Blues. He will also be a threat alongside Salah.
CONCLUSION
THE MATCH IN ANFIELD WILL BE A MATCH TO WATCH OUT FOR THIS SEASON AS THE UCL CHAMPIONS WILL LOOK TO TAKE DOWN THE FORMER PL CHAMPIONS. WILL LIVERPOOL’S TRIO ATTACK TAKE ADVANTAGE OF CHELSEA’S DEFENSE??? OR WILL TUCHEL’S MASTERCLASS TAKE AWAY ALL THREE POINTS? LET US KNOW.
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