Predicted Liverpool lineup against Chelsea starting eleven today

Right then, morning coffee still hot, I decided to crack this Chelsea lineup puzzle today. Saw the rumours flying everywhere online – injuries, tired legs, maybe a surprise start. Grabbed my old notebook, the one with stains from last season’s sausage roll incident. Needed a proper plan, yeah?

First things first, checked the official injury news. Bloody hell. Salah still out? Szoboszlai maybe fit? Trent definitely not back? It was all over the shop. Scrolled through three different club feeds and two proper news sites. Felt like digging for treasure, except the treasure was just figuring who wasn’t crocked.

Then went hunting for clues. Klopp’s last press conference? Watched the replay twice. That man speaks in riddles sometimes! Picked out bits:

• “Need energy against them” – sounded like Jones might keep his spot.
• “Tough decisions” – classic Klopp, means nothing really.
• Grinned when asked about Diaz – probably starts.

Scratched all that down. Felt stuck. So I looked back at last weekend’s game. Who looked knackered finishing against Norwich? Mac Allister ran his socks off, probably needs legs beside him. Gravenberch was decent but faded. Endo back from Asia Cup – timing might be tight.

Okay, defence. This was headache city. Without TAA, we always look shaky. Options:

• Play Gomez right back again? Solid but offers less going forward.
• Risk Bradley, the kid? Huge game for him.
• Shift Conor Bradley across? Bit mad, but Klopp does mad things sometimes.

Spent ages staring at my scribbles. Coffee went cold. Needed to commit. Here’s what my gut finally screamed:

• Up front: No brainer. Diaz left, Jota down the middle (Nunez needs rest, I reckon), Gakpo right side.
• Midfield battle: Mac Allister deep. Then Jones and Gravenberch. If Soboz is fit, he walks in, but not risking it in my notebook.
• Back line: Van Dijk and Konaté central rocks. Robertson left, back hopefully sharp. Took the gamble on Bradley right back for some zip.
• Big Alisson in goal, obviously.

Slammed the notebook shut. There it was! My predicted eleven:

1. Alisson
2. Bradley
3. Konaté
4. Van Dijk
5. Robertson
6. Mac Allister
7. Jones
8. Gravenberch
9. Gakpo
10. Jota
11. Diaz

Will Klopp pick exactly this? Probably not! He’ll throw a curveball like starting Elliott or putting Gomez somewhere mad. But this feels about right based on the scraps we got. Gotta trust the process… even if it’s mostly guesswork fueled by cold coffee.