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How Liverpool could line up against Chelsea

Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at how Liverpool could line up for Thursday's Premier League showdown with top-four rivals Chelsea at Anfield.

In a season defined largely by injury problems, Liverpool could be handed a trio of timely boosts ahead of this match with some key players set to come back into contention.

Jurgen Klopp mentioned after the victory over Sheffield United that both Alisson Becker and Fabinho are expected to return in time for Chelsea, and the Brazilian duo could both go straight back into the starting lineup.

Alisson missed out at Bramall Lane on compassionate grounds following the tragic death of his father in a swimming accident in his native Brazil last week.

The shot-stopper will be granted as long as he needs to recover, and Adrian is on standby again after a keeping a clean sheet at the weekend, but Alisson is expected to come back into the side for this one.

Fabinho, meanwhile, has been sidelined for almost a month and it will be interesting to see whether he returns at centre-back, where he has featured for most of the season so far, or in his more familiar central midfield position.

Klopp could be tempted to give Nat Phillips and Ozan Kabak - his 18th centre-back pairing of the season - more time to build a partnership given that Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip are all likely to miss the rest of the season, but Fabinho has excelled at the heart of the defence and so is expected to return in that position.

Kabak appears to be above Phillips in the pecking order following his January arrival, but a couple of shaky performances against Everton and Sheffield United could see Klopp favour Phillips for this match.

The other fitness boost comes in attack, where Diogo Jota could make his first appearance since December having now recovered from a knee injury.

The Portuguese forward missed the Sheffield United game through illness after returning to training last week, and he is likely to be eased back in via a substitute's role rather than being thrown straight back into the starting XI.

Jota's return should give Klopp the chance to rest some of his front three over the coming weeks, although Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane are all expected to start this game.

Mane scored both goals in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge to make it seven goals in 16 appearances against Chelsea across all competitions - only against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa has he scored more in England.

The champions will still be without captain Jordan Henderson, while backup goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher is also sidelined.

Liverpool possible starting lineup: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Fabinho, Robertson; Thiago, Wijnaldum, Jones; Salah, Firmino, Mane

> Click here to see how Chelsea could line up for this contest



Video prediction

Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:


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Liverpool's Fabinho trudges off after suffering an injury against FC Midtjylland in the Champions League on October 27, 2020
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal36265588286083
2Manchester CityMan City35257387335482
3Liverpool35229477364175
4Aston Villa35207873522167
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs341861067541360
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle351751378562256
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd34166125251154
8Chelsea34149116559651
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham351310125665-949
10Bournemouth36139145263-1148
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves36137164960-1146
12Fulham36128165155-444
13Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton341111125257-544
14Crystal Palace351010154557-1240
15Everton36129153849-1137
16Brentford3699185260-836
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3689194563-1829
18Luton TownLuton3668224978-2926
19Burnley3659223974-3524
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd36372635100-6516


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