Chelsea hosts Liverpool on Sunday in what will be the first real headliner fixture of the 20/21 Premier League season. A big storyline heading into this one is Blues striker Timo Werner, who earlier this week explained why he selected Chelsea over Liverpool early in this summer transfer window.
The German suffered a dead leg in his debut last week, but he will be fit to feature in this one. However, USMNT star Christian Pulisic remains out as manager Frank Lampard revealed the 21-year-old suffered a minor setback in his recovery from the hamstring injury he suffered in the FA Cup final.
New summer signings Hakim Ziyech (knee injury), Ben Chilwell (heel injury) and Thiago Silva (match fitness) are not available for selection either, as their Chelsea debuts will have to wait another week, at least.
Another major storyline to watch here is the burgeoning rivalry between Jurgen Klopp and Lampard, as the Liverpool boss, last week, hit out at Chelsea’s (Manchester City too) summer transfer spending.
Lampard answered a question on the emerging Liverpool-Chelsea rivalry.
โHow much do you want to make of it? If youโre pushing to be successfulโฆ we had it when I was a player,” Lampard said.
“In the Champions League we drew each other a lot. In modern terms itโs slightly different because Liverpool are on top of the league and weโre trying to improve. Both squads, clubs and coaches are very driven to win.”
“Itโs what the Premier League is all about. The nature of the world we live in is thereโs a lot of airtime for you to fill with rivalries.”
“They can be scrutinised in every way. I have huge respect for him, what heโs done at Liverpool was incredible. Thereโs nothing in it for me. The competitive nature of the 90 minutes can boil over but the respect for Klopp I have will never change.โ
Liverpool at Chelsea FYIs
Kickoff: Sunday Sept 20, 4:30pm local
Early Chelsea team news: go here
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction: go here
Liverpool team news: go here
Liverpool Starting XI Prediction: go here
Liverpool are 23/20 to win at Chelsea this Sunday, with the Blues 21/10 for a win. There are 11/4 odds of a draw over at Betway.
Chelsea 2, Liverpool 2
Even with Chelsea missing some stars, this should be an entertaining one.
Paul M. Banks runsย The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now.ย Banks, the author ofย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,โ has regularly appeared in WGN,ย Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribuneย and SB Nation. Follow him onย Twitter and Instagram.
