Chelsea vs Liverpool – Team News: Maresca repeats Lavia trick with full strength Blues | OneFootball

Chelsea face Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in just over an hour, and the teams are in!

It’s a massive, massive game, with Champions League qualification possibly hinging on getting 3 points against the newly crowned Reds today.

We saw a tweaked lineup in midweek to face Djurgarden, and Maresca now returns to what he thinks is his strongest side.

Robert Sanchez shakes off some minor injury concerns to start in goal.

In defence, Marc Cucurella is at left back as you’d expect, with the favoured pair of Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill in the centre.

Enzo Maresca has decided to repeat his favoured trick with the fit again Romeo Lavia. He plays in midfield alongside Enzo Fernandez, meaning Moises Caicedo drops to right back when we’re out of possession.

That’s been a really effective setup in a lot of games, and we’re sure we would have seen it more often had Lavia been fit all year. It means both Reece James and Malo Gusto are on the bench to come on and make an impact later in the game.

Cole Palmer plays in the hole as usual, with his goalless streak creeping towards 20 games. Today would be the perfect day to break it.

Out wide, the direct and dangerous duo of Noni Madueke and Pedro Neto start, with Tyrique George and Jadon Sancho on the bench ready to come on in the second half to bring some freshness.

Up front, Nicolas Jackson leads the line. He’s finally found some form, scoring 3 in his last 2 games. A goal today would be priceless.

Here are the full team line-ups for Chelsea vs Liverpool (kick off at 16:30 GMT)

CHELSEA:

Chelsea’s team to face Liverpool.

Nkunku misses out again

One notable absence from the squad is Christopher Nkunku, who has disappeared from the club’s radar with a very spurious sounding injury being mentioned. This just seems like further confirmation that he will be sold this summer.