Chelsea vs Liverpool: Team News, Starting XI, Match Preview & Prediction
Liverpool will kick off their season with the first clash of the 2023/24 Premier League season against recent bitter rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The Merseyside giants will be traveling to London for their first match of the 2023-24 season as Klopp and his lads are ready to take on the Blues.
The Reds had a pretty decent pre-season where the team scored 18 goals in total in 5 matches and conceded 11. The team won 3 matches and drew and lost 1 each out of the 5.
Liverpool have been battling with Chelsea in the transfer market and as it stands, Moises Caicedo will be joining the Blues.
Liverpool finished 5th last season, missing out on the Champions League spot. Whereas, Chelsea finished 12th after just winning the Champions League in the 2020-21 season.
The club is still lacking a midfield signing this summer. They also need a defensive signing to strengthen their options in the back.
But whenever the Reds have faced the Stamford Bridge side in the last 6 games, all of them have been a draw.
However, this is the second time both the clubs are facing each other in the opening fixture after the 2003-04 season, which the Blues won 2-1.
But the positive side is Liverpool have not lost any of the last 10 PL opening fixtures, since the club lost 3-0 against West Bromwich under Brendan Rodgers.
Chelsea vs Liverpool: Team News
Liverpool have looked in good form in the pre-season.
Alisson is fit so he would be the No. 1 choice of Klopp. The backline is also looking good with Virgil Van Dijk, and Ibrahima Konate while Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Andrew Robertson on the right and left sides. Joe Gomez and Joel Matip will start on the bench along with Kostas Tsimikas.
Thiago and Stefan Bajcetic are back from their injuries. But still, Curtis Jones is expected to get a start alongside Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
The attacking line has been the most effective throughout the pre-season and will be flourishing this season.
Mohamed Salah is an obvious choice for the boss as he scored 2 goals and assisted 7. Luis Diaz might start in the left considering his 3 goals in the pre-season.
Now Klopp will face a dilemma as to whom to start in front. Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez, and Diogo Jota have all performed pretty well in the pre-season.
Gakpo scored 2 goals and assisted 1. Both Nunez and Jota have scored 4 goals each. But Jota has also proved to be a provider after assisting 4 goals compared to Nunez’s 1 assist.
And Klopp has always liked strikers who can also provide when needed. The German might be using his most effective 4-3-3 formation.
Liverpool’s Possible Starting XI:
Alisson; Andy Robertson, Virgil Van Djik, Ibrahima Konate, Trent Alexander-Arnold; Curtis Jones, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai; Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah.
Anfield Home Prediction:
Liverpool have been quite unhappy with their last season’s result and the recent events in the transfer market.
So this will definitely fuel the team to jump into the game fiercely and try to clench a victory at any cost.
On the other, Chelsea have appointed PL-tested manager Mauricio Pochettino who would definitely want to win his first game as a Blues manager.
But he has many limitations regarding the availability of players and managing high expectations.
These factors will definitely play into the game and Liverpool should be able to secure a 2-1 victory in the first game.
