Alisson and Fabinho return to bolster Liverpool defence as Tuchel recalls Werner

Six successive days of Premier League action comes to an end at Anfield this evening as the 17th and final Double Gameweek 26 fixture takes place.

Liverpool v Chelsea gets underway at 20:15 GMT, as two defences in contrasting form meet on Merseyside.

The Reds kept only their second Premier League clean sheet of the calendar year in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Sheffield United, ending a run of seven straight blanks for Andrew Robertson (£7.2m).

Chelsea’s backline has been watertight in comparison, with five shut-outs arriving in the seven top-flight fixtures that Thomas Tuchel has overseen.

Antonio Rudiger (£4.6m) and Cesar Azpilicueta (£5.7m) have been a part of all of those clean sheets and both players start this evening.

The respective managers have made two changes apiece for tonight’s encounter.

Alisson (£5.9m) returns from compassionate leave for the hosts, replacing Adrian (£4.2m) between the posts.

The Reds’ faltering backline has been further boosted by the return to fitness of Fabinho (£5.4m), who takes Nat Phillips‘ (£4.0m) place at centre-half.

Diogo Jota (£6.6m), who would have made the matchday squad at Bramall Lane were it not for illness, is among the substitutes.

Mohamed Salah (£12.6m) will face his former employers once again as he looks to improve on a sub-par recent record of nine blanks in his last 12 matches.

As for Chelsea, Timo Werner (£9.2m) replaces Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.7m) in the visitors’ attack.

Jorginho (£4.7m) is in for Mateo Kovacic (£5.3m) in the middle of the park, with Marcos Alonso (£5.7m) again only among the substitutes as Ben Chilwell (£5.8m) continues at left wing-back.

Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Kabak, Robertson, Thiago, Wijnaldum, Jones, Salah, Firmino, Mane. 

Chelsea: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, James, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell, Ziyech, Mount, Werner.