Soccer Soccer – FA Cup – Semi Closing – Manchester Metropolis v Chelsea – Wembley Stadium, London, Britain – April 20, 2024 Chelsea’s Cole Palmer in the course of the heat up earlier than the match. Liverpool host Chelsea on Sunday in a gathering of first-year Premier League coaches who’re off to distinctive begins with their new golf equipment.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool (6-1-0, 18 factors) enter the fixture atop the standings after profitable three in a row in league play and 6 straight in all competitions.
The most important distinction between Slot’s Liverpool aspect this season and the aspect that Jurgen Klopp managed final season is a extra resolute rear guard.
Whereas Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah are off to glorious begins, combining for 9 league targets, it is on the again line the place the Reds have received matches, conceding solely 4 targets throughout all competitions (10 matches).
Final season, Klopp’s group yielded that many tallies in its first 5 matches.
“If you wish to obtain one thing, we must be secure defensively. We’ve completed that to this point,” Slot stated. “Now we face even higher gamers. Chelsea, like (Manchester) United, have a whole lot of nice gamers and now we have to regulate that as a crew, however we additionally must create our personal possibilities, too. Good factor is now we have gamers who can rating. An fascinating sport on Sunday.”
Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea (4-1-2, 14 factors) have achieved their early success extra by advantage of some distinctive attacking, led by the continued brilliance of Cole Palmer.
The Blues’ 16 league targets are the second most behind solely four-time defending league champion Manchester Metropolis. Palmer has scored or assisted on an unimaginable 11 of these as he makes his case for being the EPL’s finest all-around attacker.
But fourth-place Chelsea haven’t confronted a foe as robust as Liverpool since falling 2-0 to Manchester Metropolis within the first match of the season. So there could possibly be some temptation to say Sunday’s consequence will present how good the Blues actually are, an intuition Maresca needs to protect in opposition to.
“We’ll method the sport attempting to organize the sport in the easiest way,” Maresca stated. “And as I stated, attempt to get factors there. However it’s not this sport that’s going to outline the place we’re — if we win, we clear up all the issues, and in case we lose? No. It is only a course of, it is only a sport.”
Liverpool shall be with out goalkeeper Alisson as a result of a hamstring damage.
–Subject Degree Media
