Chelsea boss reveals one key injury for Liverpool clash but is boosted by return of star signing

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino revealed that his side will be without key defender Levi Colwill for their trip to face Liverpool - but two key figures have returned to his squad.

Jurgen Klopp's side face off against the London club at Anfield on Wednesday evening in what is a highly-anticipated game between the two rivals. Of course, their next meeting after this will be the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on February 25, making this the perfect chance to lay down a marker for either side ahead of that date.

The Reds are fresh off a highly-entertaining 5-2 victory over Norwich City in the FA Cup fourth round while Chelsea played out a tight goalless draw with Aston Villa in their cup tie, but they are in strong form, having won five of their last seven in all competitions.

Chelsea team news

Pochettino confirmed that Colwill is out of this game after suffering a small injury in their last game. He confirmed 'it is not a big issue but he is out of this one' and it is a blow considering the former Liverpool target has featured 27 times this season.

However, despite that news, he confirmed that Chelsea are boosted by the return of full-back Malo Gusto is back in the squad and the right-back will be needed with Reece James still out of action. On top of that, there was more 'good news' - as he described it - as star summer signing Christopher Nkunku will be in the squad. His season has been rocked by injuries and he has one goal in four appearances so far.

Long-term absentees include the likes of Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella, Lesley Ugochukwu and James but there's also Liverpool's summer midfield target Romeo Lavia who has played just 25 minutes this season who will also miss out. Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez is still out of action meaning Đorđe Petrović will continue to deputise.

First-choice striker Nicolas Jackson could return as well following Senegal's exit from the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday night. He played 54 minutes as his side lost 5-4 on penalties, with the striker not included in the five takers. On his squad, Pochettino said: "It's good news that Malo Gusto and Christopher [Nkunku] will be in the squad, always we are waiting for the last moment, maybe we can see if Nicolas Jackson can be involved. If he can arrive. Levi [Colwill] is out, suffered an injury it's not a big issue but he is out of this one. Trevoh [Chalobah] is really close, matter of time before he's involved.

Liverpool team news

For Jurgen Klopp, his side have key players returning after long spells out; Andy Robertson gained vital minutes against Norwich City and we saw key duo Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai both return to action after lay-offs. Klopp was able to rotate efficiently with Ryan Gravenberch, Jarell Quansah, Connor Bradley and James McConnell all starting and heads into this game with a strong squad. Mohamed Salah is the big miss for the Reds having sustained an injury on international duty with Egypt, but Alexis Mac Allister, who missed the win over Norwich, is likely to return after being rested.

Absentees for the game include Kostas Tsimikas who has recovered from a broken collarbone, but he hasn't returned to team training as of yet. Thiago, who hasn't played since April 2023, was spotted in training last week but he is still some ways from returning - as is Stefan Bajcetic, who is suffering from growing pains. Joel Matip and Ben Doak remain out and Wataru Endo is still on international duty with Japan at the Asia Cup.