Simon Mignolet to start for Liverpool vs Chelsea

Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Simon Mignolet with start for Liverpool in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash with Chelsea.

Mignolet, 30, is yet to make an appearance for Liverpool this season following the signing of Brazil international Alisson Becker from AS Roma.

The Belgian lost his place in the team to Loris Karius last December, several games after making a costly error in a 3-3 draw with Arsenal.

But Karius’ disastrous display in the Champions League final and the subsequent arrival of Alisson saw him seek a loan move to Besiktas, making Mignolet the outright reserve goalkeeper despite the Belgian’s desire to leave Anfield in search of game time himself.

Barcelona were linked with a move for Mignolet during the summer transfer window, but he remains a Liverpool player and Klopp believes he deserves a chance to impress against Chelsea.

“Yes Simon would have been ready to go to another club to be the number one in the transfer window,” Klopp said in a press conference, according to the Guardian.

“That was clear, but we couldn’t do it. Since then he’s been brilliant, he trains fantastic and he deserves that game tomorrow. I’m really happy to give him that opportunity.”

Klopp previously questioned Mignolet’s decision to speak publicly about his unhappiness over how the transfer window panned out, saying, “It’s always better to talk to me about that directly than newspapers.”

The Liverpool boss also revealed Dejan Lovren has completely recovered from a stomach problem and is likely to fill in for the injured Virgil van Dijk on Wednesday.

“Dejan looks actually quite good,” Klopp added. “He has trained completely normal now four times. He looks ready.”

Good-to-know stats and facts ahead of Liverpool v Chelsea

Liverpool and Chelsea will be aiming to replicate their league form, having both gone unbeaten so far.

Klopp’s men are currently top of the Premier League after winning their opening six games while Chelsea dropped points for the first time in a goalless draw with West Ham United on Sunday.

According to reports, Dominic Solanke and Fabinho could also be given their first starts this season for Liverpool, who have beaten Chelsea just once in their last five attempts.

Not that the west Londoners have dominated this fixture over the recent past; three of those meetings have ended in draws and you have to go back to November 2014 for the last time Chelsea scored more than once in a single fixture against Liverpool.

One player Liverpool might be hoping to see omitted from Maurizio Sarri’s teamsheet, though, is Olivier Giroud, who has scored five times in his last six starts against the Reds, including a winner for Chelsea in May.

The post Simon Mignolet to start for Liverpool vs Chelsea appeared first on Squawka News.

From Squawka NewsSquawka News https://ift.tt/2xC9AAQ