Christian Pulisic and Kepa Arrizabalaga are all set to return to the starting lineup when Chelsea travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool on Wednesday.
Chelsea will meet Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday evening, hoping to seal their place in the top four. The Blues only need another win to do so, but will face a tough hurdle against the Reds, who will be given a guard of honour by the Londoners.
“Liverpool have had an incredible campaign and maybe it’s normal sometimes when you succeed and get over the line like they have in such great fashion that there can be a small dip. I don’t consider that though. I only consider the strong Liverpool that we’ve seen for big parts of the season, that’s the Liverpool I expect,” Lampard said during his pre-match press conference.
This time tomorrow! ? pic.twitter.com/rgh7HgxGfz
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 21, 2020
The Chelsea manager will be looking to make minimal changes to the side that secured a victory over Manchester United, even in terms of formation as the 3-4-3 shape should give him some much-needed balance to the defensive unit.
That means Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta should once again be deployed as a centre-back, alongside Antonio Rudiger and Kurt Zouma, although Andreas Christensen is another option.
In midfield, Lampard confirmed that N’Golo Kante is “not ready for this game” while Billy Gilmour is another player out injured. That leaves the Chelsea boss with Jorginho, Mason Mount, Ross Barkley and Mateo Kovacic as potential options in the middle of the park.
Jorginho is pretty much a guaranteed starter in the double pivot and while Barkley is naturally expected return to the side, Lampard may favour Kovacic due to his performance against Manchester United. The Croatian international will be tasked with the responsibility of providing the energy in the Chelsea midfield against Liverpool.
Elsewhere, Reece James and Marcos Alonso will once again occupy the wing-back slots, with the latter likely to be instructed to provide width into the attack with forays down the left flank. Up ahead in attack, Olivier Giroud is guaranteed to spearhead the Chelsea frontline ahead of Tammy Abraham.
But, there might be one change in the final third, with Mount making way for Christian Pulisic, who was given a breather last time out. The US international has been one of Chelsea’s most vital performers since the restart and should look to cause problems from the left wing, with Willian operating on the opposite flank.
Chelsea Predicted XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Zouma; James, Kovacic, Jorginho, Alonso; Willian, Giroud, Pulisic
