Reece James and Levi Colwill will return to the Chelsea starting lineup when they take on Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.
Chelsea will be desperate to return to winning ways and end the shocking six-game losing run when they lock horns with Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday afternoon. Calum McFarlane has received a mixed bag of updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
While Levi Colwill and Reece James may be fit and ready to start, McFarlane has been sweating over the fitness of Robert Sanchez, Pedro Neto, and Alejandro Garnacho this week. However, Jesse Derry is unavailable after the gruesome head clash with Zach Abbott in the Premier League game against Nottingham Forest earlier this week.
The youngster accompanies Estevao and Jamie Gittens in the treatment room, with the duo recovering from hamstring issues. Additionally, Mykhailo Mudryk continues his suspension after failing a doping test over a year ago. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, McFarlane provided fitness updates on Sanchez, James, Colwill, Neto, and Garnacho.
Chelsea’s interim head coach said, “We’ve got a few lads returning. Levi has trained a full week with us, and so has Reece, so it’s really positive with those two. We’ve still got another session [before facing Liverpool], but both trained fully today and we’re hopeful [that they could start].”
“Pedro Neto and Garnacho are both carrying knocks and it’s unlikely that they will be available. While Rob won’t be available after the injury he sustained against Nottingham Forest. The early signs with Jesse are very positive and I spoke to his dad [Shaun] after the Forest game. I also spoke with his family yesterday. I don’t have all the details but all the early signs are really positive.”
Filip Jorgensen will replace Robert Sanchez between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Liverpool on Saturday. The backline will feature Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill, and Marc Cucurella.
As for the midfield unit, Andrey Santos will line up alongside Moises Caicedo in the double pivot, with Enzo Fernandez reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Liam Delap should lead the line for the away side against Liverpool, with Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro completing the numbers in the offensive unit.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Jorgensen; James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Santos; Palmer, Fernandez, Pedro; Delap
