Liverpool predicted lineup vs Chelsea - Premier League

Jurgen Klopp recorded his first away win as Liverpool manager at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge in October 2015
Jurgen Klopp recorded his first away win as Liverpool manager at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge in October 2015 / Laurence Griffiths/GettyImages
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Liverpool start to 2022 with a trip to Chelsea's Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Sunday - but they have to do it without a Covid-positive Jurgen Klopp on the bench.

Following a sequence of eight consecutive victories, the Reds haven't won a match inside 90 minutes in any of their past three outings.

Liverpool's midweek defeat to Leicester was not only the club's second loss this season, but also ended a run of scoring in 36 consecutive matches across all competitions.

Here's the XI that could bring a return to winning ways.


Liverpool predicted lineup vs Chelsea

1. Goalkeeper & defenders

Can Virgil van Dijk pocket Romelu Lukaku again?
Can Virgil van Dijk pocket Romelu Lukaku again? / Visionhaus/GettyImages

Alisson (GK) - The former Roma custodian shipped three goals on his first visit to Stamford Bridge with the Italian club back in the 2017/18 Champions League campaign, the same season he was knocked out of the competition's semi-finals by his current employers.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (RB) - Chelsea are the only side to have conceded more than one goal scored by Alexander-Arnold.

Joel Matip (CB) - The injury struggles that have dogged much of Matip's career - but appear to have mercifully subsided for the current campaign - ensured that the former Cameroon international has avoided defeat in all six of his Premier League meetings with Chelsea.

Virgil van Dijk (CB) - Liverpool's talismanic centre back limited a goalless Romelu Lukaku to the fewest touches of any Chelsea player that played the full 90 minutes in the reverse fixture last August.

Kostas Tsimikas (LB) - The self-appointed 'Greek Scouser' has offered remarkably little drop off to Andy Robertson's undoubted quality in the role of understudy this season.

2. Midfielders

Naby Keita will head to AFCON after the match
Naby Keita will head to AFCON after the match / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages

Jordan Henderson (CM) - No team has ever defeated a side including Liverpool's captain as often as Chelsea (11).

Fabinho (CM) - One positive to have emerged from Liverpool's defeat against Leicester was Fabinho's avoidance of a fifth yellow card that would have ruled him out of Sunday's crunch game.

Naby Keita (CM) - The Guinea international hasn't started a Premier League defeat since playing the full 90 minutes of Liverpool's 1-0 loss at home to Fulham in March.

3. Forwards

Sadio Mane & Mohamed Salah will also soon be linking up with their respective national teams
Sadio Mane & Mohamed Salah will also soon be linking up with their respective national teams / Richard Heathcote/GettyImages

Mohamed Salah (RW) - The former Chelsea player (for just ten starts) has faced the Blues more often than any other opponent in his career (16 games).

Diogo Jota (ST) - With ten goals from 15 Premier League starts, the Portugal international has snuck not only into second place in the division's scoring charts, but seemingly ahead of the fit-again Roberto Firmino in Klopp's pecking order.

Sadio Mane (LW) - Alongside his fellow first-choice Liverpool forwards, Mane ranks among the Premier League's top three for 'Big Chances Missed' (per FotMob) this season - the latest of which proved particularly costly in defeat to Leicester City.


You can read 90min's preview of Chelsea vs Liverpool here.

You can read Chelsea's predicted lineup here.