A story in three parts: The resolution?
Moises Caicedo looks set to leave Brighton. In the words of De Zerbi, he has “already forgotten about Moises”. However, the midfielder has reportedly informed Liverpool that he is not interested in making the move to Anfield.
Chelsea wants Caicedo and Caicedo appears to want Chelsea, too. He has reportedly had personal terms agreed since May and seeks to keep the promise he made to join the club this summer.
Could the puzzle pieces fall into place that both clubs get their original targets after trying to poach one another… or will Chelsea steal both?
A story in three parts: Moises Caicedo
However, not to be outdone, Liverpool have turned up the ante on Chelsea, bidding £111m for the Ecuadorian who Chelsea had their eye on since January.
Liverpool hopes to reunite him with Alexis Mac Allister, who has already made the journey north this summer.
It is no secret that Chelsea are long-term admirers of Romeo Lavia, bidding £50m for him this summer in the same window that Southampton purchased him for £10.5m from Manchester City.
Southampton turned that offer down but are willing to sell the Belgian midfielder for that sum this summer. A figure which Liverpool has been reluctant to match, with their highest bid so far around the £46m mark.
However, Chelsea have now cut in and bid £48m under Liverpool’s nose potentially blowing the situation wide open.
I can help with that boss…
Bruno Saltor took temporary charge of Chelsea for one game last season, a draw against Liverpool.
Despite not being part of Lampard’s coaching team, Saltor’s former Espanyol team-mate Mauricio Pochettino has reinstated the Spaniard as assistant manager.
Quite fitting that his new boss’ first game will be the same as his really…
Coaching staff changes
When Bruno Saltor traded Brighton for Chelsea, he was joined by several others. Those being Billy Reid (assistant head coach), Bjorn Hamberg (coach), Ben Roberts (goalkeeper coach) and recruitment specialist Kyle Macaulay.
While Reid was sacked with Potter and Hamberg has since left the club, Pochettino has found space for the others within his coaching team.
The Argentinian is joined in West London by several members of his Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain coaching team, namely Jesus Perez (assistant head coach), Toni Jimenez (goalkeeper coach), Miguel D’Agostino (coach) and his son Sebastiano Pochettino (coach).
Chelsea’s staggering managerial record
There are few teams that have removed and replaced managers at the same pace as Chelsea since the turn of the 21st century.
Mauricio Pochettino is Chelsea’s 23rd appointment, on a full-time or interim basis, since the 21st century.
Chelsea’s 23 managers in 23 years:
- Gianluca Vialli: February 12, 1998 – September 12, 2000
- Graham Rix: September 13, 2000 – September 17, 2000
- Claudio Ranieri: September 18, 2000 – May 31, 2004
- Jose Mourinho: June 2, 2004 – September 20, 2007
- Avram Grant: September 20, 2007 – May 24, 2008
- Luiz Felipe Scolari: June 11, 2008 – February 9, 2009
- Ray Wilkins: February 9, 2009 – February 16, 2009
- Guus Hiddink: February 16, 2009 – May 31, 2009
- Carlo Ancelotti: June 1, 2009 – May 22, 2011
- Andre Villas-Boas: June 22, 2011 – March 4, 2012
- Roberto Di Matteo: March 4, 2012 – November 21, 2012
- Rafael Benitez: November 21, 2012 – May 29, 2013
- Jose Mourinho: June 3, 2013 – December 17, 2015
- Steve Holland: December 18, 2015 – December 20, 2015
- Guus Hiddink: December 20, 2015 – July 3, 2016
- Antonio Conte: July 3, 2016 – July 13, 2018
- Maurizio Sarri: July 14, 2018 – June 16, 2019
- Frank Lampard: July 4, 2019 – January 25, 2021
- Thomas Tuchel: January 26, 2021 – September 7, 2022
- Graham Potter: September 8, 2022 – April 2, 2023
- Bruno Saltor: April 2, 2023 – April 6, 2023
- Frank Lampard: April 6, 2023 – May 28, 2023
- Mauricio Pochettino: July 1, 2023 –
Chelsea & Liverpool: Played for both
A number of players have represented Liverpool and Chelsea in the 21st century.
Using my list on the tweet attached, let us know in the ‘Discussion’ tab how many you can remember, or your favorite memory of one of them in your team’s colors.
The last meeting: Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool
Chelsea had two goals disallowed as they drew 0-0 with Liverpool in a frustrating Premier League match at Stamford Bridge.
The hosts were the better side all night but failed to find a breakthrough despite creating a handful of clear-cut chances.
The reverse fixture at Anfield also ended in a 0-0 draw. Let’s hope both sides feel like making up for lost goals this afternoon.
Liverpool loanees
While Chelsea has a reputation for loan farming, Liverpool has more players away from the club, four from the first team in addition to four from the reserves:
- Fabio Carvalho (RB Leipzig)
- Calvin Ramsey (Preston)
- Sepp van den Berg (Mainz 05)
- Rhys Williams (Aberdeen)
From the reserves: Owen Beck (Dundee), Jakub Ojrznski (Den Bosch), Dominic Corness (Yverdon Sport), James Balagizi (Wigan), Harvey Davies (Crewe), Anderson Arroyo (Andorra) and Adam Lewis (Newport).
The loan list
Chelsea currently has seven players out on loan, with Lewis Hall expected to become number eight as he prepares to join Crystal Palace. The others are:
- Angelo Gabriel (Strasbourg)
- David Datro Fofana (Union Berlin)
- Gabriel Slonina (Eupen)
- Omari Hutchinson (Ipswich)
Charlie Webster (Heerenveen), Dion Rankine (Exeter), and Teddy Sharman-Lowe (Bromley) round out the list. Five nations of loanees heading to five different countries.
Early Chelsea team news
Mauricio Pochettino is without a trio of French players today.
New £52m ($66m) signing Christopher Nkunku is expected to be out for around four months, following surgery for an injury sustained in Chelsea’s final pre-season friendly against Borussia Dortmund.
After making a bright start at Stamford Bridge in January, where so many faltered, Benoit Badiashille‘s hamstring injury came as a major blow. He is still recovering.
Wesley Fofana‘s time at Chelsea has been extremely disrupted by injury; his ACL injury is expected to rule him out until March next year.
Fellow Frenchmen Malo Gusto, Lesley Ugochukwu and Axel Disasi are available.
Romelu Lukaku, Hakim Ziyech, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Malang Sarr are not thought to be in selection consideration having not been issued squad numbers.
Jurgen Klopp is thought to have two injury concerns today, both of which are in the midfield.
Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara, who has been heavily tipped to depart this summer, has been training but it is thought his hip issue will keep him out for several more games to come.
His compatriot Stefan Bajcetic did not feature for Liverpool this pre-season due to an adductor operation but is being slowly reintroduced to the team, building match fitness.
Liverpool has no hangover suspensions from last season.
Good morning 👋
Hello and welcome to the return of Premier League live coverage on The Athletic as Chelsea take on Liverpool.
In addition to coverage of the game, we will also be bringing you all the build-up, team news and post-match reaction straight from Stamford Bridge.
Today’s game will mark Mauricio Pochettino’s first competitive fixture as Chelsea manager as he seeks to make an immediate impact in West London.
The game gets underway at 4.30 pm BST (11.30 am ET, 8.30 am PT).