LIVERPOOL VS CHELSEA: PREDICTED LINEUP

Liverpool are back in action tomorrow when they welcome Graham Potter’s Chelsea for an early kickoff (12:30pm GMT). The two sides lie 10 points off top four after underwhelming campaigns thus far. Victory here could boost the Reds’ chances. Here’s the predicted lineup.

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Jürgen Klopp reported no new injuries in his pre-match press conference, with all involved at Wolves fit and available. Darwin Nunez was also confirmed to be back in training and in contention following a hamstring complaint.

With the much changed side impressing at Molineux with their energy, intensity, defensive structure and control of the encounter, the manager is surely tempted to trust a number of them to go again tomorrow. Indeed he has hinted as much with his comments.

In goal, Alisson Becker will return in place of Kelleher. He’s been the Reds’ Player of the Season so far and will have to be at his best again here to thwart the Blues. It is quite astounding that the big Brazilian has now gone 8 matches without a clean sheet.

In fact he’s only managed four in 18 league matches this campaign, a far cry from the 20 shut outs he kept last season which landed him the Golden Glove award alongside compatriot Ederson. A clean sheet tomorrow would be very much welcome.

In defence, we could see the first sign of the gaffer rewarding Tuesday night’s back to basics display. Trent and Robbo will surely return in the fullback positions with Milner and Tsimikas making way. In the heart of the defence however, we could see Konaté partnered by Gomez once again.

Joel Matip has been underwhelming lately, with the manager demonstrating his displeasure by taking him off in the shambles at Brighton. Gomez didn’t endear himself when he came on either, with Danny Welbeck taking liberties with him.

A much improved display by the 25 year old at Wolves could have seen him play his way into the side. This would see him line up on the left, with Ibou on the right. The Frenchman seems to have recovered from a brief rough patch upon his return to the side and his pace and power will be key to covering for Trent.

The midfield selection is the one everyone is keeping a keen eye on. Let’s be frank, Fabinho and Henderson have been way off the levels required for huge parts of this campaign. There’s no dressing it up. The manager took a ‘play your way into form’ approach but that hasn’t worked.

Fabinho especially seems devoid of the energy and drive that saw him snap into tackles non-stop in his pomp. He’s now half a second slower and as such, opponents are able to escape the midfield press and just cut through to the defence.

Henderson meanwhile looks to have lost the engine that made him the beating heart of this Liverpool side. This is no slight on him either, he’s put in a whole lot of hard yards over the years under the manager’s high intensity style. It was bound to take its toll at some point.

The performance of the Bajcetic – Keita – Thiago triumvirate last time out has handed the manager a right old selection headache. 18 year old Stefan Bajcetic drew praise with his dominant display at the base of the midfield, with many suggesting he had put himself in contention to start against Chelsea.

The manager has confirmed as much himself, and that’s before thinking of Naby Keita who also reminded a few of his qualities when in full flow. Naby’s injury record is well known, but when fit, he’s more often than not a viable option.

Is the manager willing to drop both his anchor and skipper? Is Bajcetic ready for his first Premier League start? There’s also Harvey Elliott who ran himself into the ground after scoring a screamer. Does he drop back into midfield after a confidence boosting outing as a forward?

Loads of questions for Klopp to grapple with. I reckon he will only make up his mind on the day of the game. Upfront, it’s more straightforward. The returning Darwin Nunez will go straight back into the lineup if he’s fit enough. He will be flanked by Mohamed Salah and new boy Cody Gakpo.

Predicted team:

Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Gomez, Robertson, Bajcetic, Henderson, Thiago, Salah, Darwin, Gakpo.

Subs: Kelleher, Matip, Tsimikas, Milner, Fabinho, Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Carvalho, Elliott.