Liverpool will look to bounce back from the humiliating defeat against Manchester City when they travel to Stamford Bridge for a Premier League clash against Chelsea later today.
The Reds are in real danger of missing out on Champions League qualification and they are currently eight points adrift of the top four. Jurgen Klopp will demand a strong reaction from his players and it will be interesting to see if the visitors can step up and grind out a positive result here.
A defeat at Stamford Bridge could effectively dent Liverpool’s hopes of playing Champions League football next season and it would be a devastating blow to their finances and ambitions of signing top-class players.
The Reds are without the services of Luis Diaz and Thiago Alcantara. Calvin Ramsay and Stefan Bajcetic remain long-term absentees. Naby Keita is expected to miss out as well.
Klopp has confirmed that Diaz is back in training but he is not ready for the game against Chelsea. The Liverpool manager further added that the player is unlikely to return against Arsenal either but he should return to action after that.
As far as Thiago is concerned, the manager claimed that the Spanish international is back in normal team training but he is not available for the game at Stamford Bridge.
On Diaz, the boss said: “No, he’s not available [to face Chelsea]. But he is in training, but he is not ready for this game. As much as we want him to be back, we still have to give him time.
“This week, I wouldn’t say Arsenal is completely out of the picture but it’s rather unlikely. But after that then Luis will be back.”
On Thiago, Klopp added: “We had Thiago yesterday in training, in normal team training, which is good as well, but he’s not available for tomorrow of course, so we will see how he reacts. That’s it.”
Liverpool are likely to continue in their 4-3-3 formation with Alisson Becker in goal.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson will look to add creativity and width from the full-back positions while Ibrahima Konate will partner with Virgil van Dijk at the centre of the defence.
Brazilian international Fabinho will look to anchor the Liverpool midfield and break up the Chelsea play. While club captain Jordan Henderson is set to start with vice-captain James Milner. The two midfielders will look to keep Liverpool defensively compact and help protect the backline.
The front three pretty much picks itself with Mohamed Salah on the right and Darwin Nunez on the left.
Roberto Firmino is likely to lead the line instead of Cody Gakpo here. Liverpool will need the Brazilian’s playmaking abilities here.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Milner, Fabinho, Henderson; Salah, Firmino, Nunez
