Virgil Van Dijk’s road to recovery
Virgil Van Dijk has been one of Liverpool’s best players since joining in January 2018. But an injury at the start of the 2020-21 season left Van Dijk with a long road to recovery. Re-live his Liverpool story so far.
Liverpool vs Chelsea: Line-ups
Liverpool
Chelsea
Blues have a Slight Edge
#1
Starting as they mean to go on, Liverpool’s back-to-back wins and clean sheets have seen them rise to third in the rankings – level on points and goal difference with Chelsea and West Ham United – and Klopp’s men will endeavour to once again take advantage of Manchester City and Manchester United’s early slip-ups.
#2
Victory over the Clarets marked Liverpool’s seventh in a row in the Premier League – the last four of which have seen Klopp’s men record shutouts – and the Reds’ bright attacking contingent have helped their side score at least two goals in each game during that hot streak.
#3
Also unbeaten in 12 Premier League matches since going down 1-0 against Fulham back in March, a Liverpool side with a near-empty medical room certainly have the look of title challengers once again, although their opponents are equally desperate to reclaim the crown.
#4
Thomas Tuchel’s side may not have made a lot of additions this summer, but the re-signing of Lukaku may have given the Blues the attacking edge that they need to turn into genuine title contenders, although that tag will certainly be put to the test against the 2019-20 champions this weekend.
#5
Mason Mount scored the only goal as Chelsea prevailed 1-0 at Anfield last term, but that defeat represented only Liverpool’s second in 13 league games against Chelsea, who had previously failed to win in five on the Merseyside turf.
DPP Verdict
Something has to give in this crunch battle between two of the league’s eye-catching performers, but the calibre of their respective early opponents must be taken into account. Tuchel’s staunch rearguard will consider themselves fortunate if they do not concede against the Reds, but with attacking threat coming from all areas, we think the Blues’ firepower will help them maintain their perfect start to the season at the expense of Liverpool’s.
