N’Golo Kante and Romelu Lukaku are set to start while Kurt Zouma has been ruled out as Chelsea get set to face off against Liverpool this weekend.
Chelsea will be looking to make it three wins in three in the 2021/22 Premier League when they travel north to Anfield to take on Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool on Saturday evening.
Heading into the game, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel does not have any major injury concerns, although Christian Pulisic remains unavailable after contracting coronavirus while Ruben Loftus-Cheek is also a major doubt. Kurt Zouma, on the other hand, has been ruled out of the contest, due to personal reasons, the manager revealed in his pre-match presser.
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“Kurt is not with us but it’s not because of any negotiations. He has some personal family issues going on and we have allowed him to travel to France to sort these out. That is why he is not with us at the moment, nothing else, and is why he won’t be involved tomorrow but I won’t lie to you, there have been some negotiations with West Ham,” Tuchel said.
The Chelsea manager is unlikely to tinker much with the side that saw off Arsenal with ease last time out. Edouard Mendy is the undisputed starter between the sticks for the west London giants while the three-man defensive unit should comprise captain Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger, meaning Trevoh Chalobah misses out yet again.
Reece James was one of Chelsea’s best players in the win over Arsenal and is a certainty to feature at right wing-back. On the left side, Marcos Alonso is expected to keep his place in the side after a fine start to the season, with Ben Chilwell missing out yet again.
Jorginho, fresh after being named the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year for 2020/21, will be manning the midfield area, along with regular partner N’Golo Kante. The Frenchman featured only as a substitute against Arsenal having recently recovered from an injury, but should be fit enough to start against Liverpool, with Mateo Kovacic dropping out.
Mason Mount has started the new season strongly and is likely to be a permanent fixture in the starting XI when fit and available. Kai Havertz, too, is expected to hold on to his spot in the side, with the likes of Hakim Ziyech, Callum Hudson-Odoi options on the bench.
Romelu Lukaku made a fine second debut for Chelsea against Arsenal last week and should start again on Saturday. Tuchel highlighted in his presser that the Belgian’s battle against Virgil van Dijk could be key. “I’m looking forward it and I think many fans of football are looking forward to that battle,” he added. “It’s not only Van Dijk against Lukaku, it will be Liverpool against Chelsea, but of course for Romelu it’s a big challenge.”
Chelsea Predicted XI: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, James, Kante, Jorginho, Alonso, Mount, Havertz, Lukaku.
