The Chelsea and Liverpool teams have been announced.
Chelsea FC welcome Liverpool to Stamford Bridge in a Premier League clash. Here are Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp’s confirmed line-ups as we see who gets the nod, and who misses out.
Chelsea FC Team
Asmir Begovic;
Kurt Zouma, Gary Cahill, John Terry (C), Cesar Azpilicueta;
John Obi Mikel, Ramires;
Willian, Oscar, Eden Hazard;
Diego Costa
Bench: Amelia, Baba, Fabregas, Matic, Kenedy, Falcao, Remy
Liverpool Team
Simon Mignolet;
Nathaniel Clyne, Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho, Alberto Moreno;
Lucas Leiva, Emre Can;
James Milner (C), Adam Lallana, Philippe Coutinho;
Roberto Firmino
Bench: Bogdan, Lovren, Benteke, Allen, Ibe, Teixeira, Randall
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Mourinho has continued with Kurt Zouma at right-back, as Branislav Ivanovic is still unavailable due to injury. After handing Baba Rahman his Premier League debut a fortnight ago, the boss has failed to show faith in the Ghanaian since and has preferred employing Zouma out of position. It would not be surprising if this affects Baba’s confidence as Mourinho has essentially stated that a makeshift full-back is better than a natural one.
However, to be fair to the Portuguese tactician, this is a huge game for a player relatively inexperienced at this level to be thrust into.
Mourinho’s caution is further embodied in his inclusion of Mikel, who will sit alongside Ramires in the middle of the park. This means that Matic sits out after uncharacteristically losing his cool last weekend and being dismissed before the end of the first period. This defensively minded duo will look to spoil the game and use their work-rate to negate what could be very dangerous Liverpool counter-attacks.
Eden Hazard, meanwhile, gets the call which is no surprise given Mourinho’s comments in the build up to the game. He stated that he is happy with the Belgian’s attitude since his benching two weeks ago and the Blues faithful will hope that he can finally find that world-beating form today.
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Diego Costa has evidently passed his late fitness test. The striker came off prematurely against Stoke City on Tuesday night and thus was a doubt for this contest. With Loic Remy scoring in the League Cup game, there was talk that he may start in order to avoid risking Costa. That hasn’t happened as Mourinho has insisted on deploying arguably his most feisty player.
Oscar also plays ahead of Cesc Fabregas in a decision that few Chelsea fans will complain about.
On the red side of affairs, Roberto Firmino starts up front despite Cristian Benteke declaring his fitness. The Belgian scored the equaliser for Liverpool last weekend and will undoubtedly be disappointed to take his seat on the bench. Having said that, Firmino offers pace that will trouble the Blues centre-backs should they manage to get balls over the top.
Can is employed in a central midfield role as Klopp releases him from the right-back prison that Brendan Rodgers had banished the German to. He and Lucas will be key to Liverpool’s success today as they’ll be pulling the strings against a creativity-depleted duo of Mikel and Ramires.
With Jordan Ibe on the bench, the Reds also possess a player who could provide the sucker-punch as the Blues defence tire towards the end.
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How do you see this match panning out? Let us know in the comments below!