Liverpool pair undergo late fitness tests as six players could miss Chelsea clash

Liverpool aim to bounce back to winning ways in the Premier League when they travel to Chelsea today.

The Reds head to Stamford Bridge against the backdrop of successive defeats. The Premier League champions’ start to their title defence came to an end last week with a 2-1 loss at Crystal Palace. Then Liverpool failed to respond in the Champions League as they lost 1-0 at Galatasaray.

It’s another game on their travels for the Reds as they face, on paper, the most difficult opponent, which is Chelsea. The Stamford Bridge side are won the Club World Cup in July and are expected to once again challenge for a top-four finish.

Alisson Becker has been ruled out of the encounter after the Liverpool goalkeeper limped out against Galatasaray. Alisson has sustained another hamstring problem and will also likely miss the game against Manchester United after the international break. It means that Giorgi Mamardashvili, signed from Valencia for up to £29 million, will be handed a Premier League debut. Fellow summer recruit Freddie Woodman will be on the bench.

On Mamardashvili, Slot said at his pre-match press conference: “I think we've seen against Southampton how well he's adjusted. We knew that we were bringing in a very good goalkeeper. But when he plays his first game, that's always the best way of seeing that he's adjusted well or not – and I think we've seen in that game that he's adjusted really well to our goal, which is not a surprise because he's a quality goalkeeper. Now he can do what Caoimh [Kelleher] had to do so many times in the past, replacing Alisson – hopefully in a way Caoimh did so many times before.”

Liverpool are sweating on the fitness of Hugo Ekitike and Federico Chiesa. The former also came off in the Galatasaray reverse while Chiesa did not travel. The pair were due to train with the Reds yesterday and their fitness will be assessed before making a decision on whether they are involved against Chelsea.

If the forward pair are unavailable, the natural player to call up would have been Jayden Danns. However, the highly-regarded striker finds himself back on the treatment table after a frustrating year of injuries. Danns sustained a hamstring complaint in the under-21s’ in a 3-2 loss at Ipswich Town last weekend. The 19-year-old is set to be unavailable for a prolonged period as he works his way back to fitness.

Danns is one of three teenagers who is unavailable for Liverpool. Giovanni Leoni underwent surgery for his ACL injury earlier this week. The 18-year-old defender sustained his problem on his debut in a 2-1 win over Southampton in the Carabao Cup. Leoni is set to spent at least a year on the road to recovery.

Meanwhile, Stefan Bajcetic has still to make a return to action after having surgery during the summer. The midfielder picked up a hamstring injury during his loan spell at Las Palmas last season. Bajcetic will play games for the under-21s before being considered for first-team duty.