3 things to look out for in Liverpool's Premier League opener against Chelsea

After a pulsating pre-season which saw Liverpool score 18 and concede 11 goals in just five games, all of the focus now looks towards a vitally important 2023/24 season, kicking off with a clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this weekend.

This season looks set to be one of the most important in the Jurgen Klopp era, with the Reds desperately needing to get back into the Champions League and begin to fight for trophies once again after a very disappointing 2022/23 campaign.

For the first time in 12 years, Liverpool enter the season without Jordan Henderson, and other prominent figures like James Milner, Roberto Firmino and Fabinho have also departed the club, which means new captain Virgil van Dijk and vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold need to step up and ensure the club's high standards are being met.

However, amidst all the change, many fans fear the new season is coming too soon for the Reds. The squad is currently in desperate need of two or three additional signings - including *at least* one defensive midfielder and despite our attacking prowess, Liverpool's defensive frailty is coming under a lot of scrutiny.

With just three days to go and many questions still unanswered, here are three things to look out for when Liverpool face Chelsea on Sunday.

Chelsea vs Liverpool match preview: team news, lineups, referee, TV, kick-off time.

WHO PLAYS AS THE 6?

By far the weakest area in Liverpool's squad going into the first game of the season, there are still serious question marks regarding who will be the club's senior defensive midfielder for the season, let alone against Chelsea.

After losing Milner and selling Henderson and Fabinho, the club is left incredibly light in the midfield. While Curtis Jones, Thiago Alcantara and new signing Alexis Mac Allister can all feature as "the six", all three of them would prefer to play further up the pitch.

Stefan Bajcetic is, of course, an option, but after breaking into the first-team last season at just 17 years old, and coming off the back of a lengthy spell on the sidelines, it would be lunacy to start the youngster against Chelsea and have him as the only real option for the long season to come.

Liverpool have been locked in talks with Southampton for Romeo Lavia, but after an incredibly eventful Thursday morning - which saw Chelsea outbid the Reds for the Belgian before the bid was subsequently rejected, and Liverpool reignite interest in long-term Chelsea target Moises Caicedo - it remains to be seen whether either midfielder will be wearing red this season.

However, even if a deal is completed for one, or both of the midfielders, Liverpool have left it too little too late in the window for either to feature against Chelsea on Sunday.

The most likely outcome from our current options would be for Mac Allister or Jones to start as the defensive midfielder, leaving the other two spots free for Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo. With any potential signing coming too late, Liverpool might just have to focus on outscoring Chelsea.

JOTA OR NUNEZ?

All five of Liverpool's star forwards have been in fine form this pre-season, each contributing to an abundance of goals and generally looking fit, sharp and raring to go.

Fans would imagine that Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz are locked in to attack Chelsea from Liverpool's flanks. While as of late, Cody Gakpo has excelled when deployed slightly deeper as the most attacking midfielder, just behind the front three.

Due to the club's lack of options at defensive midfield - likely prompting either Jones or Mac Allister to play deeper, it's safe to assume that Gakpo will keep his midfield spot on the opening day.

That therefore leaves Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota fighting for the striker spot. Both will certainly get minutes against the Blues, but in terms of who starts, it really is a toss up.

Nunez scored four times and assisted once, while Jota also hit the back of the net four times, but assisted twice - it's fine margins.

However, Liverpool's final pre-season game against Darmstadt would have likely been the most accurate representation of what Jurgen Klopp views as his best XI for the season, which saw Jota starting and Nunez benched.

Whether this is how the boss will deploy his attackers against Chelsea is uncertain, but a hot-formed Darwin Nunez coming off the bench as an impact substitute is an exciting prospect, and can only be a good thing.

WILL THIAGO OR BAJCETIC FEATURE?

As already alluded to, it would come as a major shock to see either Thiago or Bajcetic start on Sunday, but is their involvement completely out of the question?

The Spanish duo were absent from Liverpool's entire pre-season, staying in Merseyside to continue their rehabilitation while the rest of the squad completed tours of Germany and Singapore.

However, on Wednesday afternoon, the pair were pictured back in full-team training, which was a welcomed sight for Liverpool fans and Jurgen Klopp's depleted midfield.

It wouldn't be a surprise to see either player named on the bench against Chelsea, but Liverpool would unlikely risk even substitute appearances from the pair, who have had no pre-season whatsoever and have very recently returned.

You'd expect the only exceptions would be in the event of on-field injuries, or if Jurgen Klopp gives them very few minutes towards the end of the game to gradually return the pair to match fitness.