EPL: Chelsea Face Liverpool Test Amid Injury Crisis
Chelsea will host Premier League leaders Liverpool this evening (Saturday), but manager Enzo Maresca faces a significant challenge due to a major injury crisis within his squad.
Chelsea are set to be without eight players for today’s match against Liverpool, including central defenders Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana, and Tosin Adarabioyo, as well as Trevoh Chalobah, who is suspended.
This leaves 19-year-olds Josh Acheampong and Jorrel Hato as potential starters in central defence.
Midfielders Cole Palmer, Dario Essugo, and Andrey Santos are also unavailable, further limiting Maresca’s options.
Maresca has attributed the team’s injury woes to fatigue from their Club World Cup campaign, noting that the team had only 20 days of rest after the tournament, which may have contributed to the high number of injuries.
Despite these setbacks, Maresca remains optimistic. He acknowledged Liverpool’s recent defeats but emphasized that they remain a formidable opponent. “Liverpool are vulnerable but still dangerous,” Maresca stated.
Liverpool, under manager Arne Slot, have experienced back-to-back defeats against Crystal Palace and Galatasaray but still lead the Premier League table.
They will be without goalkeeper Alisson for today’s match. Despite these challenges, Slot’s side remains a potent force, with attacking threats like Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo ready to exploit Chelsea’s defensive vulnerabilities.
Chelsea and Liverpool have been evenly matched in recent encounters. In the last five meetings, Chelsea won 3–1 at home, lost 2–1 away, were defeated 1–0 at home, suffered a 4–1 loss away, and drew 1–1 at Stamford Bridge.
Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is scheduled for 5:30 PM. Chelsea will be hoping to overcome their injury crisis and secure a positive result against the league leaders.