- Liverpool take on Chelsea in today’s late kickoff in the Premier League
- There’s one comfortable winner here in our combined Reds & Blues XI
- Mohamed Salah and Eden Hazard lead a superb-looking front line
- WATCH: Footage emerges of furious Salah and Liverpool bench reacting to Sevilla equaliser
Liverpool vs Chelsea is undoubtedly today’s stand-out fixture as two of the teams battling it out for a top four place meet at Anfield in the late kickoff.
Jurgen Klopp’s side fared pretty well against Antonio Conte’s champions last term, beating them at Stamford Bridge and holding them to a 1-1 draw at Anfield when they were at the top of their game.
Still, Chelsea had by far the superior season overall and once again look the more convincing outfit based on what we’ve seen this term.
As such, it’s little surprise to see Conte’s players dominate our combined XI, though Liverpool’s superb attackers make for a very impressive looking front three…
GK: No explanation necessary here – it’s Thibaut Courtois over Simon Mignolet or Loris Karius all day long, every day of the week, and all the rest of it.
CB: We’ve copied Chelsea’s system and gone for a back three, and we’ve also included all their defenders in it because Liverpool might as well not have any – our first pick is the ever-reliable Cesar Azpilicueta.
CB: In the middle we’ve gone for Andreas Christensen, who looks a superb young prospect and who has recently replaced the under-performing David Luiz in the side.
CB: Finally, Gary Cahill takes the third spot, not through any particularly great displays of his own, but for not being Dejan Lovren or Ragnar Klavan.
RWB: Remember when Victor Moses spent a season on loan at Liverpool? Didn’t think so, and yet here he is, now first choice at wing-back for Chelsea and one of their most important players. It’s a funny old game.
LWB: Marcos Alonso is an easy pick despite some improvement from Alberto Moreno this season, who remains a liability in defence despite his qualities going forward.
DM: A regular in combined XI’s whenever Chelsea are involved, it’s the one-man midfield machine N’Golo Kante taking up one of the spots. The reigning PFA Player of the Year was badly missed in his recent spell out injured, and he’s shown his importance once again upon his return.
DM: Finally a Liverpool player, with Emre Can’s performances this season showing he could grow to be one of the very best defensive midfielders in the game, though even that is tinged with negativity for Liverpool as he heads towards the end of his contract next summer.
FW: Wide on the right is a player Chelsea must feel very silly about letting go – Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian is the Premier League’s leading scorer this season and must be one of the signings of the summer.
FW: Philippe Coutinho takes up a place on the left as Liverpool unsurprisingly feature more players at this end of the pitch. The Brazilian is another, however, whose long-term future at Anfield is in some doubt.
FW: In a false 9 role that he has increasingly played this season, Eden Hazard takes the final place in this attack after some superb form since returning to the Chelsea side from an injury that kept him out at the start of the campaign.
Liverpool & Chelsea combined XI in full:
