The UEFA super cup is an annual football match between the winners of the Uefa Champions League and the Uefa Europa League. The 2019 edition will be between 2 English sides. Liverpool won the Uefa Champions league by defeating Tottenham in the final. Chelsea won the Europa League by defeating Arsenal in the final. You can see that it’s an all English affair.
Both teams have started the season in different manners. Liverpool won their first match by defeating newcomers Aston villa 4-1. They did that with absence of Sadio Mane. Chelsea on the other hand made some changes to their team. They saw head coach Sarri join Juventus, Eden Hazard join Real Madrid, and David Luiz join rivals Arsenal. Lampard audition as Chelsea head coach was a disaster. A 4-0 defeat away at Old Trafford is a bad thing. When you consider the fact that you are facing Liverpool soon, you don’t want to lose by that margin to last season strugglers.
Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp led Liverpool are the favourites for this game. They showed that they are not slowing down with their victory against Aston villa. Their loss against Manchester city in the community shield was a hard pill to swallow considering the number of chances Salah missed. Sadio Mane didn’t feature in both matches played so far this season but he is in contention to be back for the super cup against Chelsea. This is a major boost for Klopp. Alisson injury is not likely to have much effect on the game as they can do well without him. They still have the superb Van Dijk, the strong midfield led by Fabinho passes and the famous attacking trio of Salah, Firmino, and Mane. Origi can also be called upon as he as shown to be a quality backup.
Chelsea
Frank Lampard has a real task on his hands. Kante, Rudiger, Loftus Cheek, and Odoi looks to be out. This is a major concern considering their loss against Manchester united. The red devils attacking line is not as devastating as Liverpool own and still manage to score 4, you now wonder how many goals Liverpool will score. Chelsea defense line is zero. They were ripped apart at every Manchester united counter. Zouma always out of position, Christensen is a shadow of his usual self, and no recognized defensive midfielder to stop Manchester united attacks.
If Frank Lampard utilize the Manchester united tactics against Liverpool, the goals will turn to a basketball scoreline.
I believe Lampard will try to sit deep and let Liverpool see much of the ball. He will setup Chelsea in a counter attack fashion and hope to catch Liverpool via counter attacks. That way, they will be able to reduce the scoreline to a respectable one and who knows, they may snatch a win.
Prediction
I think the game will end in a draw. Lampard has learnt his lesson with the Manchester united match and won’t want to repeat the same mistake. The game will end in a draw by the end of 90 minutes.
A 1-1 score looks likely.
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