Chelsea will reportedly be without Kepa Arrizabalaga to face Liverpool later today, with the 28-year-old closing in on a loan move to Real Madrid.
According to the Telegraph, the 28-year-old goalkeeper will be unavailable to feature against the Reds at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea’s Premier League opener, with Robert Sanchez expected to make his debut for the Blues.
The most expensive goalkeeper of all-time at £71m as per BBC Sport, Kepa’s form has picked up over the last 12 months having underperformed for Chelsea ever since signing from Athletic Club in 2018.
As a result, Liverpool will be pleased to hear this morning’s news that Kepa won’t be part of Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea squad, with the Argentine manager labelling the shot-stopper as ‘fantastic’.
With the west London side set to beat Liverpool to the signing of Moises Caicedo, the Reds can now leave their talking on the football pitch, with a win today against Chelsea something that will leave the Blues quiet.
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Indeed, a win today will set Liverpool up perfectly for the new season, and Kepa’s absence from the Chelsea squad will be a significant boost for the Reds this afternoon.
Liverpool can exploit Chelsea with Kepa now unavailable
It’s strange to think of a world where Kepa being missing from Chelsea’s squad would be considered a bad thing, yet that’s the situation we find ourselves in today when Liverpool come to town.
With Sanchez unlikely to be fully match fit, Liverpool have a real shot at exploting Chelsea to get their Premier League campaign off to the best possible start.
The likes of Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah have been on fire in pre-season, and the trio could cause plenty of problems this afternoon against Chelsea with no Kepa in goal.