Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will live in Frank Lampard’s head.
Liverpool take to the road come Sunday, with a much anticipated tie in London with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. All eyes will be on this one to see how the reigning champion Reds deal with a wealthy re-invigorated Chelsea side.
Expect a tough slog here on the road and still without fans in attendance.
Frank Lampard’s side has splashed the cash this summer; adding Timo Werner from RB Leipzig , Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen, Hakim Ziyech from Ajax, Malang Sarr from Nice, Ben Chilwell from Leicester, and Thiago Silva from PSG.
It will be interesting to see how well these additions to the fourth place side last campaign can hit the ground running this season. Chilwell is the only one of those players to have league experience.
Chelsea finished 33 points behind Liverpool last campaign and will be seeking to overturn that result with a win here.
The ongoing not so private, hot then cold, semi-feud between Lampard and Jurgen Klopp has had the attention of fans and media since their sideline shouting match in July.
Klopp has struck out at Chelsea’s summer spending in the media, and Lampard has made public apology for his sideline behavior when the two last met. He has also publicly defended his club’s transfer business and spending in this window.
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Ironically, it was Chelsea’s victory over Manchester City that propelled the Reds to the ascendency in their first title in 30 years, also in July. The Blues will be looking to draw first blood on the reigning champions by taking all three points here, and laying down a marker for the rest of the league; that the Blues are a title contender this season.
Any club with designs on a Premier League title will have to see off a strong Chelsea side in the process. Or so is the theory of Lampard and company.
I suspect that Klopp and his squad will have a good deal to say about that come Sunday with ready answers to the Blues questions of the champion Reds.
This should be a firecracker of a match and I expect goals to come from both sides, and play to be open and inviting as both sides will look to attack strong and constantly in a regular donnybrook of a slugfest.
After a heart-stopping victory over newly promoted side Leeds at Anfield in match day one; the Reds can expect another relentless assault on their title retention campaign. Klopp will be looking to send his own message to all title challengers and the rest of the league; where he has been quoted as saying ‘we intend to attack, not defend’, our title pedigree.
The Reds should be fit across the board with no significant injuries or minor knocks to any of the starting 11.
My predicted lineup is fairly straightforward, with Allison in goal, Andrew Robertson, Joe Gomez, Virgil Van Dijk, and Trent Alexander-Arnold across the backline.
Midfield looks to be the tried and true consistent side from last campaign with Fabinho in the no. 6; and skipper Jordan Henderson with Gini Wijnaldum.
The lethal triumvirate of Sadio Mane, Bobby Firmino, and Mo Salah round out the starting 11.
Joel Matip, Neco Williams, Adrian, Naby Keita, Curtis Jones and Takumi Minamino are likely subs with James Milner or Divock Origi rounding out the bench.
Kostas Tsimikas has returned from COVID quarantine and may feature, and Thiago Alcantara is not yet in the mix for the Reds. Harvey Elliot, I do not foresee getting a bench spot here. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is still recovering from a knee injury this summer and is not available.
This will be a hard match for the Reds, and they will be trying to play against a much stronger Chelsea; at least on paper, than when the two last met in July. A draw is not out of the question, but I expect a high scoring affair here with Liverpool pulling out a late winner once again, 4-2.
The defense will need to be spot on and the front three will also need to be composed and clinical in their finishing. I look for both Mane and Firmino to get on the score sheet here.
I look for Klopp to implement his heavy metal patented high press and rely on a strong midfield showing to control possession and tempo. This match like most, will be won or lost in the midfield battles.
Look for Chelsea to attempt quick counters as they did against Man City in July to knock the Reds off their rhythm.