Chelsea vs Liverpool: 3 Blues Mauricio Pochettino must start

1. Levi Colwill

On the back of signing a new six-year contract, the 21-year-old center back Levi Colwill is going to be a vital piece to the success of the defense this year. Without Benoît Badiashile, Colwill is the first option as the Blues’ left-sided center back next to Thiago Silva or Axel Disasi. He did not just take John Terry’s former number by accident. West London’s new No. 26 wants to be great.

Pochettino could not lose a generational talent like Colwill to another Premier League side. His confirmation of his future in blue was arguably the most important move of the last few months. Last January for Brighton and Hove Albion, the Southampton native collected 90 minutes in the Premier League against Jürgen Klopp’s side. He was the only player on the pitch for more than two minutes that day with an over 92.5 percent pass completion percentage. He and potentially new teammate in west London Moisés Caicedo combined to complete 14 long passes on that day.

The academy graduate has continued to take steps during his past two campaigns on loan. This is the year he shows out for the club he has been a part of since his under-nine days. The way he performed in pre-season and with the Seagulls showed everyone he has all the attributes to be a world-class center-back. Whether it is firing left-footed balls down field or winning 50-50 aerial duels, there is nobody else this club would want to build its defense around.

Who will Poch start to open the season against the Reds?