Introduction: Chelsea vs Liverpool
The Premier League season for 2020-21 kicked off last weekend. We have already seen some exciting matches and results. Teams like Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton, Leicester all started their season with winning their opening day fixtures. With the season underway truly all the teams which are looking for top 4 finish after their wins last game week will be looking to carry on their form and momentum. Game week 2 for us has a mouth-watering clash awaiting. It’s the last season’s Champions Liverpool travelling to London to take on the Blues of London. It’s going to be the first clash of expected Top 6 teams.
Teams
Chelsea
Lampard started their campaign with 3-1 win against Brighton. The team played not too exciting football but managed to win the game easily. Lampard knows that defensively his team needs to work on. Two out of his many signings were given their debuts in the last match. Both Werner and Havertz had a good display.
As far as the team news is concerned, Lampard will be delighted to have his player of the last season Kovacic back after his suspension. Also Chelsea captain, Azpillicueta is back to full fitness and is likely to start in that defence. Another summer signing Thiago Silva will be available for selection but is likely to start from the bench. While other signings such as Ziyech and Chilwell will still be missing the game.
Liverpool
The Klopp team, on the other hand, had to grind for their win. Liverpool played out in a manic clash where they were pushed to their limits by the newly promoted Leeds United in a 4-3 goal-fest. Klopp admitted after the game that defensively his team were not up to the mark and they need to work on it.
As far as the team news is concerned Chamberlain is still out for them. It will be too soon for Liverpool new arrivals Thiago and Jota to start the game but one of them could feature on the bench for the Reds.
Head to Head
These teams met 2 times last season and on both occasions, Liverpool was victorious. As a matter of fact, Liverpool has lost only once at Stamford Bridge in the last few years. The last encounter between these two teams was pure madness and goals were coming left right and centre it ended with Liverpool winning with a scoreline of 5-3.
Tactical Aspect
Chelsea
Lampard’s team in the last match started with an unseen formation of 4-2-2-2. Their newly signing Havertz and young prodigy Mount were on the wings. Werner was the main man and was instrumental in their win. However, Lampard is likely to go back to the formation of 3-4-3. The returning Kovacic is expected to be directly slotted into the midfield along with Kante. With Azpilicueta returning to full fitness, he is likely to start and play as 3rd centre back in that backline along with Zouma and Christensen who were decent in their opening day fixture. James and Alonso will be playing as wingbacks. And front 3 of Mount-Werner- Havertz is likely to remain as it is.
Liverpool
Klopp’s men would start in their traditional 4-3-3 with their go-to frontline of Salah-Firmino-Mane. It’s highly unlikely that their newest midfielder signing Thiago would start his Liverpool career with such a high-intensity game straight away the same applies for Jota. Liverpool’s defence would look to redeem themselves after their lacklustre display against Leeds. Especially VVD and TAA who both had off games will be itching to perform in this game.
Players to watch out for
Timo Werner(Chelsea)
Wenrer was on verge of signing for Liverpool but instead chose the Blues. This match indeed could be the perfect match for the German to make his Stamford Bridge debut. He looked good on the opening day fixture and was the reason Chelsea got the penalty. He will be eager to make his mark on the game by scoring goals.
Kai Havertz(Chelsea)
Another German International who has signed for the Blues. He had an excellent last season in the Bundesliga.
He made his debut in the last game and had a good impact on it overall. Along with Werner, he will be looking for a strong start at his new home ground.
Mohammed Salah(Liverpool)
The former Chelsea man has been a completely different player since going to Liverpool and has been stealing the show. Salah started this year’s campaign with a bang, scoring a superb hat-trick of goals against Leeds and taking his team to victory. He will be looking to carry his form into this game as well.
Liverpool’s defenders
Liverpool’s defence was pretty ordinary against newly-promoted Leeds which almost cost them the game. Especially players like VVD and TAA didn’t cover themselves with glory in that Leeds game.
They would definitely be looking to bounce back in this game. Them battling out with Chelsea’s extraordinary attack would be a fascinating battle to watch out as they will look to stop the likes of Werner Havertz and Mount from scoring.
Conclusion
This clash promises to be a fascinating encounter. Chelsea is a side which is looking to fix themselves as a prominent team and be one of the top contenders for the title. This team has all the required qualities to hurt Liverpool and cost them all 3 points early in the season itself. On other hands, Liverpool would want a solid defensive performance and ruthless attacking exploits from their front three from their backline to steer themselves towards victory.
It would be very interesting to see who comes out on top in this epic clash tonight.
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