Soccer Soccer – FA Cup – Semi Ultimate – Manchester Metropolis v Chelsea – Wembley Stadium, London, Britain – April 20, 2024 Chelsea’s Cole Palmer through 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 successful 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 objectives, it is on the again line the place the Reds have gained matches, conceding solely 4 objectives 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 should be secure defensively. We now have executed that to date,” Slot stated. “Now we face even higher gamers. Chelsea, like (Manchester) United, have plenty of nice gamers and we’ve to regulate that as a group, however we additionally must create our personal probabilities, too. Good factor is we’ve gamers who can rating. An attention-grabbing 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 objectives 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 greatest 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 end result will present how good the Blues actually are, an intuition Maresca desires to protect towards.
“We’ll strategy the sport making an attempt to organize the sport in one of the best ways,” Maresca stated. “And as I stated, attempt to get factors there. Nevertheless it’s not this sport that’s going to outline the place we’re — if we win, we remedy all the issues, and in case we lose? No. It is only a course of, it is only a sport.”
Liverpool can be with out goalkeeper Alisson because of a hamstring harm.
–Area Degree Media