Gameweek 21 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) begins with a fixture that ought to have ramifications for the title race but in actuality features two underachieving sides stuck in mid-table obscurity.
Ninth plays tenth as Liverpool entertain Chelsea at Anfield, where the action gets underway at 12:30 GMT.
The Blues are winless in their last five league games on the road, having last tasted success on their travels at Villa Park in mid-October.
Jurgen Klopp’s side come into this fixture off the back of successive Premier League defeats, meanwhile, although they’ve only been beaten once on home soil in 2022/23.
As for the team news, Klopp makes three changes to the Liverpool side that beat Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup on Tuesday.
Alisson, Andrew Robertson and Mohamed Salah come into the starting line-up, with Caoimhin Kelleher, Kostas Tsimikas and Fabio Carvalho making way.
The central midfield trio that impressed at Molineux, Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic and Naby Keita, keep their places, so Fabinho and Jordan Henderson have to make do with substitute roles.
Darwin Nunez is fit enough to make the matchday squad but is only on the bench, as is Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The right-back wasn’t part of the squad that took on Wolves in midweek and Klopp’s pre-match comments suggest that a lack of training time was the reason for both Alexander-Arnold and Darwin’s omissions.
“Trent [Alexander-Arnold] came back yesterday. Darwin [Nunez] had a few days back.
“Usually, we are not compact enough and that make life very difficult for the midfielders. [Naby] Keita and Thiago did well in the midfield. When you are connected you can play well and win balls. In the last few games, we win balls and then give it away.
“I like everything that I saw from [Bajcetic] against Wolves on Tuesday. He deserved that start. He is a smart kid, a really good player. He played outstanding. It was clear that if we could, we would start with this midfield again.” – Jurgen Klopp on his team selection
Chelsea make just one alteration to the starting XI that saw off Crystal Palace last weekend, with Marc Cucurella coming in for Carney Chukwuemeka.
New arrival Mykhailo Mudryk is only on the bench, while Mateo Kovacic is not included in the squad.
GAMEWEEK 21 LINE-UPS
Liverpool XI: Alisson, Milner, Konate, Gomez, Robertson, Bajcetic, Keita, Thiago, Elliott, Salah, Gakpo.
Subs: Kelleher, Fabinho, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones, Tsimikas, Nunez, Matip, Alexander-Arnold.
Chelsea XI: Arrizabalaga, Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Badiashile, Hall, Cucurella, Jorginho, Gallagher, Mount, Ziyech, Havertz.
Subs: Bettinelli, Aubameyang, Loftus-Cheek, Mudryk, Koulibaly, Fofana, Azpilicueta, Chukwuemeka, Humphreys.
