Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw by Man United in the Premier League on Sunday and the Blues could drop further points as they prepare to face Liverpool in midweek.
The London club will hit the road for this one and they are currently undefeated in their last 7 matches in the league. This means the Blues are slight favourites to come out with a win on Thursday, also because Liverpool have seen a massive dip in form.
Thomas Tuchel has really strengthened things up at the club since his arrival and the manager has only one major injury absentee going into this key away fixture. Chelsea have kept a clean sheet in 5 of their last 7 matches so they will be banking on their defensive line to keep players like Salah and Mane at bay while their attackers try to break down a depleted Liverpool defence.
The Blues are currently fifth on the league table so if they can pick up three points on Thursday then they might have the chance to enter the top-four once again, depending on how West Ham United fair next week.
Chelsea team news vs Liverpool:
Thomas Tuchel has been using a three-man back line in the Premier League and for this game also, the formation will not alter. Thiago Silva is not going to be ready for the Liverpool game meaning Christensen and Rudiger will be partnered by Apzilicueta in defence.
Kante did a brilliant job shadowing Bruno Fernandes on Sunday and this performance of his should be enough to retain a place in the starting line-up. With Kante likely to start, Jorginho will be warming the benches again.
Mateo Kovacic is one of the key players in Tuchel’s squad right now and he along with Mason Mount are guaranteed starters at Anfield.
Ben Chilwell could be rested in midweek meaning Marcos Alonso is likely to come back into the side. Hudson-Odoi picked up a slight knock on Sunday but the latest reports claim he will be ready for Thursday.
If he cannot be available for selection then Reece James will play as the right wing-back.
Kai Havertz remained an unused sub for Chelsea against Manchester United but the German could return to the starting line-up this time around, replacing Hakim Ziyech.
Christian Pulisic seems to have fallen down the pecking order under Thomas Tuchel and the American is not likely to feature in the first XI on Thursday either.
Olivier Giroud had an average outing against United and he could move to the bench at Anfield as Timo Werner comes back into the line-up. Werner is expected to play as the lone centre-forward.
Chelsea’s predicted line-up vs Liverpool:
Predicted Starting Line-up: Edouard Mendy; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen; James/Hudson-Odoi, Kante, Kovacic, Marcos Alonso; Havertz, Mason Mount, Werner.
Stats via Whoscored.
