Liverpool vs Chelsea team news and predicted line-ups: Alisson missing for Reds as Maresca faces defensive reshuffle
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Liverpool and Chelsea both have a few selection dilemmas ahead of their encounter this weekend.
The two sides have made strong starts to life under their new managers, losing just one Premier League game each so far this season.
Heading into this fixture, the Reds are top of the table, and the Blues are fourth, so we should be in for a blockbuster at Anfield.
Certainly, both teams like to dominate the ball and impose themselves, while there will be a wide variety of attacking talent on the pitch.
Both sides are also going to have to make some changes to their backline, so there should be goals at both ends.
Here, talkSPORT.com looks at the latest team news…
Liverpool
The main problem for the Reds comes in goal as they will be without Alisson Becker.
The Brazilian international came off during Liverpool‘s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace last time out after he damaged his hamstring clearing the ball.
He immediately dropped to the floor and indicated he couldn’t continue, meaning Vitezslav Jaros had to come on for his Premier League debut with Caoimhin Kelleher out ill.
Alisson is expected to be out for six weeks, but Kelleher has recovered from illness and will start.
The back four is likely to pick itself, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Andrew Robertson fast emerging as Arne Slot‘s preferred defence.
Alexis Mac Allister also came off at half-time against Palace and didn’t feature for Argentina against Venezuela.
However, he’s started for his country against Bolivia, meaning he should be fine to take his place in the XI.
Meanwhile, Curtis Jones withdrew from the England squad to deal with a personal matter.
This could see Dominik Szoboszlai return to the team alongside Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch.
Mohamed Salah will be on the right, but there are a couple of selection headaches for Slot.
Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo are in direct competition for the left-wing role, with the latter starting the last Premier League match and his team-mate the previous Champions League encounter.
The key factor could be when they both got back from international duty, with Diaz arriving on Merseyside later than Gakpo due to Colombia playing their international fixture a day later than the Netherlands.
And up front, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota are in direct competition.
Jota scored the winner last time out, so it’s likely he’ll start.
Chelsea
For Chelsea, Robert Sanchez is the current number one and will keep his place despite a few mistakes so far this season.
Reece James is back in training after a long absence but this game will be too soon for a return, so Malo Gusto will start at right-back.
Levi Colwill has emerged as a key player at the heart of the defence, but he will be without his usual partner, Wesley Fofana.
The Frenchman has accumulated five yellow cards already, so he will serve a one-match ban.
In his place, Tosin Adarabioyo is likely get the nod over Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile.
Marc Cucurella is also suspended for the same reason, meaning Enzo Maresca could hand Renato Veiga his second Premier League start.
In midfield, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo are finally starting to gel and show what they are capable of.
Their partnership has kept Romeo Lavia and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall out of the starting line-up, with the latter missing out on the squad entirely on multiple occasions.
Noni Madueke is impressing on the right and should keep that spot, while on the left, Jadon Sancho is playing with confidence again.
That means Pedro Neto, Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix are set to continue their roles off the bench.
Cole Palmer has made the number ten role his own, while Nicolas Jackson continues to lead the line despite Christopher Nkunku breathing down his neck.
