Liverpool vs. Chelsea predicted line-ups and team news: Salah to miss out and Colwill a doubt

Liverpool and Chelsea face off in a mouth-watering Premier League tie on Wednesday night, with the home side looking to maintain their lead at the top of the table and the big-spending visitors search for some consistent form in the hope of mounting a late charge for European qualification – and both sides will no doubt treat this as a warm-up for the EFL Cup final at the end of February, when they will face each other again.

Liverpool have not lost a game yet in January, but outgoing manager Jürgen Klopp will have to make do without Mohamed Salah despite the Egyptian seeing his national side knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations – and the Reds may also be without World Cup winning midfielder Alexis Mac Allister after he missed the thrilling 5-2 FA Cup over Norwich City.

Visitors Chelsea, meanwhile, could be missing as many as 10 players thanks to injury and international call-ups, but are boosted by the return of Ben Chilwell who came on as a second-half substitute during the 0-0 FA Cup draw with Aston Villa.

We've got all the latest team news and injury updates below - and if you're looking for some ideas and information ahead of the Fantasy Premier League transfer deadline, you can also head over to our Top 500 manager's regular advice column by clicking here.

Liverpool team news

Egypt’s AFCON campaign may have ended after losing to Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties, but star winger Salah will still be out for at least another fortnight thanks to a hamstring injury. He is also expected to miss the games against Arsenal and Burnley as a result.

Elsewhere, Argentina midfielder Mac Allister was left out of the squad to face Norwich after picking up a knock against Fulham in the EFL Cup, with his omission said to be precautionary – there have been no further updates on his availability, and he will go down as a doubt for the game at Anfield.

Elsewhere, full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson could be in line for a return, with the Scotsman back in first-team training having missed the last 13 league games thanks to a dislocated shoulder. Kostas Tsimikas (shoulder), Joël Matip (cruciate ligament), Ben Doak (knee), Thiago Alcântra (hip) and Stefan Bajčetić (calf) will all miss out, as will Wataru Endo who remains with Japan at the Asian Cup. They face off against Bahrain on Wednesday for a place in the quarter-finals.

Liverpool predicted line-up

Alisson; Gomez, Konaté, Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold; Jones, Mac Allister, Elliott; Jota, Núñez, Díaz.

Chelsea team news

Chilwell’s return is timely given that Levi Colwill was withdrawn from the squad to face Villa after sustaining an injury in the warm-up – the issue is thought to be minor, however, and Mauricio Pochettino has suggested that Colwill was expected back in training ahead of the Liverpool match.

There are also question marks over the fitness of Malo Gusto (muscular) and Christopher Nkunku (hip), although Pochettino believes they will both be able to play at least some part at Anfield. Elsewhere, Trevoh Chalobah has been pictured in training but is not expected to play as he battles to regain match fitness – and in any case, there remains some chance that he could leave Stamford Bridge before the end of the transfer window.

Players who will definitely miss out on the game against Liverpool include Robert Sánchez (knee), with the goalkeeper likely to resume training later in the week, as well as Reece James, Lesley Ugochukwu (both hamstring), Marc Cucurella (ankle), Wesley Fofana (cruciate ligament), Roméo Lavia (thigh) and Nicolas Jackson, whose Senegal side face host nation Ivory Coast in AFCON 2023 on Monday evening.

Chelsea predicted line-up

Petrović; Chilwell, Colwill, Silva, Disasi; Caicedo, Fernández, Gallagher; Mudryk, Palmer, Sterling.