Liverpool won their first game of the new Premier League season 4-1 vs Norwich City and next they shift their focus to the UEFA Super Cup vs Chelsea.
The Reds won the Champions League beating Spurs on the final day of last season and Jurgen Klopp will be hoping to add one more trophy to his tally when they take on the Blues at the Vodafone Arena in Istanbul.
On paper, the match should be an even contest but pundits believe Liverpool have a slight edge given that Chelsea lost their season opener vs Man United 4-0 on Sunday.
Also, one major factor that might affect the outcome of the match is the fact that the Reds would have had an extra two days to recover since they played their match on Friday.
Liverpool news vs Chelsea:
The first and perhaps the biggest Liverpool news regarding the UEFA Super Cup is the injury sustained by keeper Alisson Becker.
The Brazilian slipped while taking a goal kick during the 36th minute of the match and after a couple of minutes trying to patch him up on the pitch, the Liverpool medical staff decided to take him off.
And speaking after the game, Jurgen Klopp made it clear that the shot-stopper has picked up a calf injury and will not be able to take part in the UEFA Super Cup clash vs Chelsea in midweek.
The German told his post-match press conference: “There is actually nothing bad to say about the game apart from Ali’s injury. That is, of course, not good for us, but we have to see how serious it is and then we have to deal with it.
“It’s the calf and that’s it. He couldn’t carry on, that’s not a good sign. We have to see.
“Wednesday [in the Super Cup], he will not play – with all my experience, I can say that already. He is injured, for sure, so we have to see how much.”
The absence of Alisson Becker means summer signing Adrian will play as the No 1 for Liverpool vs Chelsea.
Apart from this, there are no major injury concerns for Liverpool right now but Klopp does have a few selection dilemmas especially in the attacking third.
Divock Origi had a fine outing vs Norwich on Friday as he played down the right-wing – the same area that Sadio Mane usually operates.
And with Mane expected to return to his usual role on Wednesday, it would be interesting to see what Klopp chooses to do with Origi.
While some claim that Origi might get to play upfront in place of Firmino but we believe he will drop down to the bench and might come on as a second-half substitute.
The other change that we could see is James Milner coming into central midfield as the Liverpool manager chooses to rest Wijnaldum at Istanbul.
Reds’ predicted XI vs Chelsea:
Starting XI: Adrian; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Sadio Mane.
