Liverpool’s Predicted Lineup Vs Chelsea: Here is how Liverpool could line up against Chelsea at Anfield on Sunday.
Liverpool will invite Chelsea to Anfield on Saturday in what might prove to an exhilarating contest. The Reds put in a convincing display against Southampton on Friday night away from home and a 2-0 victory over FC Porto beckoned in the Champions League Quarterfinals at Anfield.
Despite winning their last five games in all competitions, Jurgen Klopp knows there is no room for a point drop en route to their Premier League title fight with Manchester City. On the other hand, Maurizio Sarri and Chelsea are desperate to finish in a Champions League spot and are grappling for a place in the top four.
The Premier League record scorer Mohamed Salah has been misfiring in recent weeks, but he got an important goal against Southampton which could have bolstered his confidence. Roberto Firmino is yet to open his account against Chelsea, whilst Sadio Mane has been the main man for Liverpool since the turn of the new year. Things might not be promising in the front line, but the defence has been solid, conceding just 20 goals in the Premier League this campaign.
On the other hand, Maurizio Sarri, who was stubborn with his starting eleven and tactics, has altered those two to procure results over the last few weeks. The introduction of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to the starting lineup, and the uplift in Eden Hazard’s performances have forced the opponents to come up with a formula, and Jurgen Klopp has mentioned about the importance to stop the Belgian in this huge clash.
The head-t0-head statistics are so close between these two sides and Chelsea have not tasted defeat in their last eight trips to Anfield. Let’s look at the team news and predicted lineup.
Injury News
In the pre-match press conference, Jurgen Klopp confirmed that Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum did not attend the training on Friday, but expects them to be fit on Sunday. The Senegalese International had suffered a thumb injury, whilst the Dutchman has a back problem.
“Sadio fell on his thumb and didn’t train yesterday. He should be OK today,” Klopp told reporters on Friday. “Gini has a bit of a back problem but will train today.”
The Reds boss spoke about the importance of game time in the Under23s and training before featuring in the Premier League for the English duo – Joe Gomez and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain.
“It’s just been a long time,” said Klopp on Oxlade-Chamberlain.
“He played 40 minutes against Derby [last month] and then 60 minutes in an internal game [on Tuesday]. He needs more minutes to play.
“It’s difficult because all the others are fit. How can I compare? It looks positive in training, like Joe, but we need to make sure they are really ready.
“They were serious injuries. We want to have them for the future, not only one game. That’s why we try to be as serious as possible.” added Klopp.
PREDICTED LINEUP:
Liverpool: Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dejan Lovren, Virgil Van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino.
