Chelsea have been handed an injury boost as Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has been ruled out of their game on Saturday.
Enzo Maresca will be pleased as his side managed to get back to winning ways by beating Benfica 1-0 in the Champions League upon Jose Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge, as a warm reception from the Chelsea fans greeted him.
However, the Blues will turn their attention back to the Premier League at the weekend as they are looking to get three points after consecutive defeats in the competition, which has ramped up the pressure on Enzo Maresca.
They face a game against league leaders Liverpool, which on paper, is a very tough fixture. However, Arne Slot is also under some pressure after his side lost consecutive games too. They fell 2-1 to Crystal Palace in the Premier League, and then lost to Galatasaray in the Champions League.
Alisson is due to miss the Chelsea game
In that Champions League defeat in Turkey, goalkeeper Alisson had to be taken off due to a hamstring injury, and Slot confirmed after that he will miss the game against Chelsea at the weekend. Slot told Amazon Prime Video Sport: “It’s never positive if you go off like this. [Alisson] is definitely not going to play on Saturday.”
That means that backup goalkeeper Giorgo Mamardashvili will start for the Reds on Saturday, in what is a major boost for Chelsea, because of just how good Alisson can be. Marmadashvili is a good keeper, but he is no match for Alisson, and so the likes of Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandez will hope to continue their good scoring record for Chelsea without Alisson.
Liverpool could also be without striker Hugo Ekitike, who appeared to pick up a knock against Galatasaray too. The Frenchman has been excellent so far for Liverpool, and so would be a huge loss for Slot.
The manager said: “Let’s see how he is for the weekend. He felt something when he had to reach for the ball. After the game, that’s always the difficult thing with these moments.”
Click here to see Chelsea’s latest injury news ahead of the Liverpool game.