Oftentimes in football, a team considered out of sorts need to get three points on the board before worrying about the slickness and style of the performance.
This isn’t the case for Liverpool, whose start to the season has seen them win plenty of matches, but lack any semblance of the control or snap of the previous title-winning campaign under Arne Slot’s wing.
So, against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, the Reds need to bounce back from back-to-back defeats with a strong performance, especially with the Blues’ backline ravaged by injuries and suspensions.
Liverpool avoided any real fitness setbacks across Slot’s first year, but a few issues have crept in over the past few weeks, with Giovanni Leoni out for as long as a year after rupturing his Achilles against Southampton, and Alisson Becker now back for his habitual stay in the infirmary after landing awkwardly during the recent defeat to Galatasaray in the Champions League.
Less severe is the issue that Hugo Ekitike is dealing with after that midweek match, but it’s a concern all the same for Slot, who needs the in-form Frenchman as he looks to build consistency.
The latest on Hugo Ekitike
Since leaving Eintracht Frankfurt this summer and joining Liverpool in a £69m deal, Ekitike has established himself as one of the most dangerous forwards in the Premier League.
Nine games into his Merseyside career, the France star has scored five goals and assisted one. He has only played 582 minutes for the Reds, marking a direct contribution every 97 minutes.
However, the 23-year-old overreached for the ball in Istanbul after the hour mark and left the field with muscular discomfort. Fears that he has suffered significant damage have been allayed, but there is certainly concern over his availability for the weekend.
When Liverpool completed their summer of spending with the addition of Alexander Isak from Newcastle United for a record-breaking £125m fee, it was widely expected that he would be at the top of the pecking order.
Perhaps the Sweden striker still is, but his positional rivals incredible start will certainly have provided Slot with food for thought.
And with Isak, 26, still not quite match fit after his turbulent summer transfer window, Slot might even be inclined to keep the deadly number nine on the bench, instead unleashing another in his place at centre-forward.
Liverpool's left-field Ekitike replacement
Isak scored his first goal for Liverpool during the win over Southampton, and many more euphoric moments are sure to come for the Sweden star, but the Reds do have an alternative pick for this upcoming clash against Chelsea, should Slot choose to utilise them.
That would be Federico Chiesa, who missed out against Galatasaray due to an injury precaution but is raring to go ahead of the weekend. The Italian, 27, is enjoying something of a resurgence in England, having already scored two goals for the club this season in the Premier League, assisting both strikes against Saints too.
Described by journalist Carlo Garganese as one of Italy’s “generational talents” before devastating knee injuries, the versatile forward looks like he’s bouncing back, having sat on the fringe for most of the 2024/25 campaign, arriving last summer for a bargain £12.5m fee.
Given Liverpool’s proclivity for late goals at the moment, Isak might find that another cameo might not be the worst thing in the world, entering the fray with the Reds possibly seeking out a winner.
Chiesa, of course, has proven himself to be something of a menace in the last embers for Liverpool so far this season, but he was immense during the win over Southampton and could apply his energy and creativity and dynamism from the outset, ensuring Liverpool don’t toil their way through the first half of the tie in west London.
Revived and hungry to leave his mark on the English game, Chiesa has been deployed three times off the bench as a striker in the top flight this term, and he scored on the first and last of those appearances.
The £150k-per-week talent played a central role for Juventus across the 2023/24 season, before moving to Liverpool, and FBref record that he complemented his steady goal return with some interesting underlying numbers, ranked among the top 2% of positional peers in Serie A for shot-creating actions and progressive carries per 90.
Given that he has played such limited football this season, albeit more than he was receiving each week across his first year at the club, there’s every reason for Slot to hand his utility weapon a first Premier League starting berth of the year, perhaps knocking Chelsea’s tactical preparations out of kilter while doing so.
Hugo Ekitike
9
5 (1)
Mohamed Salah
9
3 (3)
Federico Chiesa
6
2 (2)
Alexander Isak
5
1 (0)
Cody Gakpo
9
1 (2)
Rio Ngumoha
5
1 (0)
Hailed for having a “finisher’s DNA” by sports editor Danny Gallagher, Chiesa is the perfect alternative option for Liverpool to deploy at the front of their ship.
In fact, Chiesa has registered a goal contribution every 96 minutes at Liverpool, underlining his natural potency. Whether this is sustainable in the longer stretch remains to be seen, but it’s curious to note that this eclipses even Erling Haaland’s record at Manchester City, with the unstoppable Norwegian having scored 135 goals and supplied 22 assists across 154 games in sky blue, equating to a rate of 1.01 contributions per game.
Given that Salah was dropped to the bench against Galatasaray, it goes without saying that Liverpool will start with the Egyptian King on the right flank.
And with Florian Wirtz perhaps being placed down the left channel to bring Dominik Szoboszlai into the midfield, restoring a measure of robustness to Liverpool’s engine room, this could be a move to finally restore Liverpool’s form, with Isak gearing up to enter the fray after a lively opening-half display from the Italian.
Not Isak: Liverpool star is their own version of Arsenal icon Thierry Henry
Liverpool have enjoyed incredible success with this talent in their mix.
ByAngus Sinclair
