Chelsea and Liverpool both have injury problems to contend with ahead of their Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge this weekend.
Two defeats on the bounce against Crystal Palace and Galatasaray for Liverpool have set alarm bells ringing despite being in perfect nick this time last week with seven wins from seven.
The Reds looked rather lost away in Turkey on Tuesday night and returned to Merseyside with two fresh injury problems.
Alisson Becker has already been ruled out of the trip to Stamford Bridge after ‘feeling something’ as he sprinted back with Arne Slot offering a rather bleak update after the Galatasaray game.
Hugo Ekitike meanwhile started after serving his suspension against Crystal Palace but went off on 68 minutes. Slot was again unable to give exact details over the nature of the issue but stopped short of ruling him out this weekend.
Get personalised updates on Chelsea every day
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
Federico Chiesa is also a doubt after missing the game midweek. His countryman Giovanni Leoni meanwhile is set for a long spell on the sidelines after his anterior cruciate ligament injury in the Carabao Cup last week.
Elsewhere, Slot could have a huge decision to make on record signing Florian Wirtz after another underwhelming performance from the German.
Enzo Maresca is dealing with a crisis at the back with four of his options at centre-half unavailable. Levi Colwill is a long-term absentee with Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana ruled out until after the international break.
To make matters worse, Trevoh Chalobah, one of Chelsea’s best players so far this term, will serve a one-match suspension following his red card in last week’s defeat to Brighton.
It leaves Maresca with the options of 19-year-old Josh Acheampong and Benoit Badiashile.
Andrey Santos meanwhile is another who will miss the visit of the champions after a knock picked up in training earlier this week.
Cole Palmer will not be involved with Chelsea making the decision to pull him out of the team for a few weeks to help him shake a persistent groin injury.
Liam Delap and Dario Essugo make up the eight-man absentee list hanging over the Chelsea boss.
Chelsea XI to face Liverpool – Metro prediction
Injuries leave little room for rotation with Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo playing the full 90 for the second time in four days on Tuesday. Reece James and Estevao Willian started on the bench against Benfica and will be expected to start on Saturday.
Liverpool XI to face Chelsea – Metro prediction
Giorgi Mamardashvili will deputise for Alisson in west London while Alexander Isak will surely join him in the starting XI.
Chelsea vs Liverpool TV channel and kick-off time
Chelsea vs Liverpool kicks off at 5:30pm on Saturday 4 October.
You can watch the match live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event with streaming also available through the Sky Go app and NOW TV for subscribers.
You can also follow all the action with Metro’s LIVE blog.
MORE: Shay Given names his favourite in three-way Premier League title race
MORE: Man Utd vs Sunderland: Latest team news, predicted lineups and injuries
MORE: ‘He’s the one for me’ – Ben Foster names perfect replacement for Ruben Amorim at Man Utd