Chelsea vs Liverpool 22/1 Bet Builder

With the injury to Nkunku sidelining him for 16 weeks, there’s no doubt Jackson will be leading the line for Pochettino to open the season.

Jackson was signed from Villareal for £32m following a strong season in which scored 12 goals and set up 4 in just 26 appearances.

Jackson averaged 1.3 SOT/90 for Villareal last year and has gelled well with his new teammates in pre-season. Jackson recorded at least one SOT in 3/5 pre-season games, against Brighton, Newcastle, and Borussia Dortmund. In which the Senegalese scored two and assisted two.

Liverpool had some real defensive issues last year, conceding the most goals since their 15/16 season which saw The Reds finish 8th.

This lack of solidity has carried over into pre-season. Liverpool allowed 12 shots on goal against Bayern which is by no means good.

However, Klopp’s men also allowed a concerning 10/24 (41%) SOT against smaller German sides: Karlsrusher, Greuther Furth, and Darmstadt.

Jackson has the pace, intelligence, and clinical finishing ability to be a real handful for Liverpool’s defense. I really fancy Jackson to make Allison work today.

Despite the signings of exciting young attackers in Gakpo and Nunez last season, it was Mo’ Salah who topped the scoring charts for Liverpool.

Cutting in from the right, the Egyptian winger managed to strike 1.23 shots goalwards last season.

Pre-season allowed Salah to try out his new shooting boots, 2 goals and 0.8 SOT from 1.8 shots per game in 5 matches for him. Looks like Salah is finding his form coming into the new year.

Salah failed to force a shot on target against his former side in either game last year, but that just means he’s due to this match. Operating on the right Salah will likely be lined up against Chilwell and new man Levi Colwill, hoping to take advantage of an unfamiliar CB-LB partnership for Chelsea.

rent can’t defend, it’s not just a common opinion, it’s what the numbers say. 0.68 fouls per game last year ranks Alexander-Arnold 2nd among Liverpool players, resulting in 5 cautions. TAA recorded a foul in each of the final two preseason matches and will be coming in hot.

There are some questions as to where TAA will lineup in his newer role against Chelsea. Still a right back, but one that moves centrally more regulalry, and needs to defend across several different areas.

At RB, he’ll be up against Mudryk who drew 1.64 fouls/90 last year due to his lightning pace. Also, Jackson’s movement will see him drift into the flanks and cause an issue for TAA – Jackson drew 1 foul per game for Villareal last year.

When Trent moves in to CM, he’ll have to contend with Gallagher and Fernandez who last year drew 1.94 and 1.2 fouls respectively last season.

Alexander-Arnold has started 4 games at CM/CDM in his career, at the end of last season and in this recent pre-season. In these games, TAA averaged 0.64 fouls, including two fouls against North Macedonia in England’s 7-0 win.

Liverpool don’t have defensive cover in midfield. They sold both Fabinho and Henderson.

The Brazillian committed 54 fouls last season, 25 more than anyone else. Those scenarios won’t just vanish, and with TAA finding himself in central areas, he’ll run in to far more scenarios where he may need to commit a foul.

With no new midfield signings Gallagher may line up in a double pivot with Enzo. In the deeper role, Connor will be asked to fill in with more defensive duties. Something which is not particularly suited to his game as he can rash at times.

I really fancy Gallagher for a booking against Liverpool, the midfielder racked up a squad high 1.94 fouls P/90 last season for Chelsea, resulting in 12 cards.

It’s looking like Szboszlai and Mac Allister will be his direct opponents in the middle of the park, this is dangerous for Gallagher as they drew 1.43 and 1.78 fouls per 90 last season respectively.

An additional route to a booking could be assisting his fullbacks to manage the threat posed by a highly talented front line – Gakpo (2.04), Diaz (1.40), Jota (1.19), Salah (0.90), and Nunez (0.6) all have a knack for drawing fouls.