Thomas Tuchel and Jurgen Klopp renew their rivalry on Thursday, March 04th, as Tuchel heads North West to Anfield. Liverpool have held the upper hand in this fixture in recent times. Liverpool beat Chelsea 0-2 at Stamford Bridge in September, and a win would take the team in 4th place. Tuchel will be looking to do something Chelsea have not achieved since November 2017 and secure at least a point at Liverpool. A win for Chelsea would also put the team in 4th place. A point would not be a bad result for both teams in the race for Champions League football. Jurgen Klopp will be looking to end Liverpool’s abysmal home run, and he will take heart from the victory away to a defensively solid Sheffield United team.

Liverpool’s injury crisis has abated. Naby Keita and Caoimhin Kelleher have returned to fitness. Klopp also reported that Alisson (father’s death), Fabinho, and Diogo Jota could feature against Chelsea. The team will be without Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson and Joel Matip. They all have long term injuries. Chelsea’s only injured player is Thiago Silva.

Following the impressive midweek Champions League win away to a top Atletico Madrid Team, Tuchel made some tactical changes by bringing in Ziyech and Chilwell for their first starts and bringing back Hudson-Odoi in the Right Wing Back position. The changes make perfect sense due to Manchester United’s playing style, and Chelsea dominated that game. Liverpool is; a completely different animal. Liverpool continues to play a high defensive line so expect Werner to start. Chilwell should keep his starting place as he offers better defensive coverage against Salah and Alexander Arnold, who are Liverpool’s biggest attacking threats. On the right, expect Reece James to get the nod ahead of Hudson-Odoi for better protection against an out of form but still dangerous Sadio Mane. Kante and Kovacic will start in midfield with Mason Mount before them. At some point, Pulisic can exploit the space behind the full-backs with pace and skill.

Teams have deployed defensive low-blocks at Anfield. Liverpool has been unable to break down these compact deep-lying defences. Klopp has creative options in midfield in Curtis Jones, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Shaqiri and Naby Keita. Diogo Jota’s return could be pivotal to penetrating a low block should Tuchel use that tactic. Liverpool’s full-backs pushed very high against Sheffield United, and Alexander Arnold got to the by-line to cut back a ball to assist Curtis Jones. Robertson almost did the same for Salah, who placed wide. We have also seen Liverpool shooting a lot more.

Tuchel understands Klopp’s gegenpressing as it is a philosophy he successfully used. It will be interesting to see how he sets up his team. Tuchel does not want to lose this game; expect a pragmatic approach from Chelsea. Liverpool are always vulnerable to quick counter-attacks, especially with inexperienced centre-halves and the current lack of defensive cover in midfield to support the full-backs when they push high up the pitch.

Both teams will create chances, but they both struggle to finish them. They have also been sloppy at the back. This game has a scoring draw written over it based on current form, but the tactics and execution on the day will determine the result.