After their embarrassing 4-1 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday, Liverpool return to action tomorrow night as they take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Against the Sky Blues, a somewhat promising start saw Mohamed Salah open the scoring in the 17th minute, but a patch of poor defending saw Julian Alvarez equalise before going into half-time.
However, an immediate goal from Kevin de Bruyne straight after the reset opened the floodgates, with Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish also getting on the scoresheet, as City dismantled the Reds.
In his pre-match press conference today, Jurgen Klopp revealed that he would be making changes to his starting XI to face Chelsea.
Therefore, here’s the team we think will line out at Stamford Bridge tomorrow night.
Defence
As Liverpool’s player of the season, Alisson Becker will keep his place in goal – yet to let Klopp down.
With a lack of options at right-back, Trent Alexander-Arnold will likely keep his place in the side. It’s possible Joe Gomez could come in, but the manager is more likely to back the Scouser for the starting spot.
Despite an underwhelming performance at the Etihad, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk will line out at centre-back, as the side’s best defensive pairing.
At left-back, Andy Robertson stood out as a liability against City. This makes us think Klopp will rest the £8m player tomorrow night, with 26-year-old Kostas Tsimikas taking his place.
Midfield
Despite poor performances in the middle of the park, Klopp isn’t left with much choice due to the absences of Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic and Naby Keita.
Therefore, Fabinho will keep his place as the number six, with captain Jordan Henderson slightly ahead to his right.
Harvey Elliott started the match against City, but the German boss is likely to go for a more solid three this week.
Subsequently, we think the reliable James Milner will come in as a central midfielder.
Attack
Having recovered from a cut ankle, Darwin Nunez will return to the starting XI tomorrow, as Liverpool look to cause chaos for Chelsea’s defence.
Despite an impressive assist on Saturday, Diogo Jota is the option most likely to miss out, with Cody Gakpo somewhat of a bright spark against City.
The Uruguayan is expected to return to the left wing, whilst the Dutchman will continue to carry Roberto Firmino’s legacy in the false-nine position.
Most obviously, star player Mohamed Salah will undoubtedly keep his place on the right.
Liverpool’s predicted XI vs Chelsea: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Fabinho, Henderson, Milner; Salah, Gakpo, Nunez.
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