As Chelsea legend Ray Wilkins always observed, the greatest aroma in the world is freshly-mown grass – because it heralds the return of the football season. And what a blockbuster opener the Premier League has lined up for the Blues’ new head coach Mauricio Pochettino with the visit of Liverpool.
Both teams are in transition and looking for a kickstart after a disappointing 2022/23 campaign, and you might reasonably expect goals at both ends. Except, amazingly, the past six meetings across all competitions between these heavyweight rivals have been draws, and the four most recent ended with neither side troubling the scoreboard.
Nevertheless, Poch is aiming to become the first coach since Leicester’s Craig Shakespeare in February 2017 to open their account with a win against Liverpool.
The Argentinean and Chelsea both have a formidable record on the season’s opening weekend. Pochettino won five of his previous seven starts in this country, while Chelsea have won 20 and drawn six of the 31 previous Premier League openers.
Team news
Pochettino has already made his mark on Chelsea and the renewed energy, intent and imagination could be easy on the eye over the coming months. Pre-season saw more partnerships developing, more bodies arriving in the opposition box, better organised pressing, and tactics designed for players who make a difference.
He used the five unbeaten pre-season matches to assess and refine the squad he will take into his first Chelsea campaign. Among the players who completed the most minutes were Conor Gallagher (sometimes used in a high pressing role), goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, attacker Christopher Nkunku, and Ian Maatsen (again used in an advanced role with great success).
Unfortunately, Nkunku, the leading summer goalscorer with three and a key man in Pochettino’s dynamic style, will be out for a few months with a knee problem.
Chief summer assister (with three) Nico Jackson, a Swiss-army-knife forward, looks certain to lead the line against Liverpool, and it could be a busy Sunday for Mykhailo Mudryk. Elude the Reds’ initial press and they can be open at the back and flanks – the lightning Ukrainian’s domain – as Bayern showed repeatedly in a recent friendly. Raheem Sterling may figure against his former club on the right flank.
Young Brazilian Andrey Santos has mightily impressed but may have to wait for a debut, with Enzo and Gallagher comprising the midfield against tough opening opponents. Poch has also voiced his approval of no.10 Carney Chukwuemeka’s can-opener movement on the edge of the box.
At the back, Malo Gusto looks an able rival to skipper Reece James at right-back, Levi Colwill is likely to partner Thiago Silva in central defence, and left-back Ben Chilwell has looked close enough to his athletic best to hold off Marc Cucurella. Benoit Badiashile and Wes Fofana are sidelined, and towering new defensive signing Axel Disasi may be given more time to settle in.
Incoming goalkeeper Robert Sanchez will push Kepa for minutes and livewire winger Noni Madueke and the versatile Trevoh Chalobah should soon be ready for some involvement following an injury-disrupted pre-season.
Scouting the opposition – Liverpool
Pre-season can produce misleading portents, but Liverpool’s high-scoring summer warm-up matches echoed their final game of 2022/23, when they traded blows with relegated Southampton in a 4-4 draw.
The 4-3 loss to Bayern highlighted their much-discussed strength in attack and weakness in defence, especially in wide areas. Klopp blamed fatigue for a lack of concentration and poor decision-making, but saw encouraging moments where what he is planning came together.
It is all change in Liverpool’s midfield, with established names such as Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and James Milner departed (and Thiago Alcantara injured). Of those the Brazilian, Klopp’s most reliable defensive stopper and a guaranteed starter, is arguably the least-easily replaced. Curtis Jones appeared to be groomed for that role in pre-season.
The friendlies also saw debuts for key signings Dominik Szoboszlai, a left-sided attacking middleman who also takes free kicks, and former Brighton box-to-boxer Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo’s World Cup-winning teammate.
Klopp is set to continue his switch to a vogueish 3-box-3 formation with right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold handed a central midfield role, leaving the flank-covering more to the right centre-back, likely to be Ibrahima Konate, when counter-attacked. The box is completed by a forward dropping more centrally too, so Alexander-Arnold is less a wing-back now, more a deep-lying quarterback.
All three of the Reds’ front three – Luiz Diaz, Diogo Jota and former Blue Mo Salah – found the net against Bundesliga newcomers Darmstadt last Monday. Another possible starter, Darwin Nunez, has formed an effective understanding on the right with Salah, though the tactically-disciplined Cody Gakpo is likely to be selected against Chelsea.
