EPL: The Blues vs The Reds

The second round of the match will take place at Stamford Bridge as the Blues host Liverpool defending champions. Both teams won in the opening round, The Kop won a sweat from the newly promoted Leeds while Chelsea also struggled to defeat the host Brighton. The last time they met in the second leg last season, the London representative lost 3-5 at Anfield.

With Chelsea still not in a contract with Rennes goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, Kepa Arrizabalaga looks set to hold on to the goal. Rookie Thiago Silva has a full week of training but it's not clear if he's ready for his Chelsea debut. Christian Pulisic may not be risking so early with a hamstring injury after experiencing a minor crash last weekend. With Ben Chilwell still sidelined, it wouldn't be surprising that Cesar Azpilicueta kicked left-back in place of Marcos Alonso on Sunday. Mateo Kovacic was back from suspension and was able to kick in midfield with Jorginho's replacement, who appeared to have struggled in a 3-1 win over Brighton last weekend. Ruben Loftus-Cheek is also expected to be dropped from the starting line-up following such a poor performance at the opening weekend. Instead of switching to Callum Hudson-Odoi from the wing, Frank Lampard could let Timo Werner flank with midfielder Tammy Abraham or Olivier Giroud. After spending more than £ 200 million on new signings this summer, Chelsea is not only expected to compete with Liverpool, but also get better this season. However, last weekend's performance against Brighton showed Frank Lampard would need more time for his new players to speed up.

Liverpool are gearing up to recruit Bayern Munich central midfielder Thiago but he will not be at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Jurgen Klopp has a strong squad, with only Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain currently sidelined for the defending champions, the only doubt on the team is between Georginio Wijnaldum or Naby Keita in central midfield. Liverpool are unbeaten in 35 of their last 38 matches (Premier League) and Liverpool have scored at least 3 goals in their last 3 matches (Premier League) as well as have more than 2.5 goals scored in 4 matches recent The Kop. Liverpool had to sweat to win 3 points at the opening weekend, they won 4-3 over newly promoted Leeds at Anfield. Thiago's impending arrival has given Jurgen Klopp's side the boost they need and now they'll look to lower Chelsea after their substantial spending. Striker Mohamed Salah remains their biggest hope after the Egyptian striker scored a hat-trick against Leeds with two penalties and a beautiful left-foot volley and a powerful header from Virgil Van Dijk helps the Red Brigade to have 3 complete points.