Liverpool vs Chelsea: A tactical preview of both the Carabao Cup and the Premier League fixtures

The Premier League has gotten off to a frantic start and so far only Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City remain unbeaten. The manner in which they have gone about their business has been quite different although it is refreshing to see such contrasting styles getting the job done.

The blueprint laid out by Sarri has reinvigorated Chelsea going forward, however the same cannot be said about their defence which has room for improvement. Liverpool, on the other hand, have made some astute signings over the last few transfer windows, that have not only improved their rearguard but also provided necessary depth in midfield.

These two heavyweights are scheduled to face off midweek in the League Cup followed by a clash in the Premier League over the weekend. While the cup fixture will take place on Wednesday night at Anfield, Stamford Bridge will host the league fixture on Saturday. The managers will definitely look to rotate midweek and we can expect to see certain key players rested or even coming off the bench.

Both teams play with a 4-3-3 formation that has a clear emphasis on pressing high, winning the ball and transitioning quickly to the wide areas, where the likes of Robertson and Alonso can cause a lot of damage.

This tactic has been particularly successful because of the smart movement of the front 3 into the inside channels or in between the lines, where opposition defenders are drawn out allowing the likes of Salah, Mane, Hazard, Pedro and Willian to run in behind and score.

While one can get carried away by the big names in either team, the real MVPs have been the defensive-minded players. Klopp has brought out the best in Wjinaldum, Joe Gomez, Robertson, Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold. One cannot overstate how important these players are given Liverpool's tendency to play out of the back and move the ball quickly through the opposition's high press.

Wjinaldum, in particular, has taken up an unfamiliar role as the deepest lying midfielder when Liverpool play out of the back, enabling the likes of Naby Keita, Milner, Shaqiri and Henderson to occupy spaces in between the lines. This along with Firmino's brilliant movement to draw out defenders leaves Salah and Mane in acres of space to run into and hurt opposition defenders.

Chelsea will be looking to make the most of home advantage in the Premier League

Sarriball, on the other hand, emphasises similar concepts of pressing although it relies very heavily on the Regista (deep lying playmaker) Jorginho. He is tasked with dictating all the play with his clever movement and good distribution. His guile and vision allows him to spread the ball across the pitch with ease and he is the focal point of every attacking play.

This allows the team to receive and move the ball up the pitch in quick triangles to either Hazard or Willian, who can then pick out either Pedro, Morata or Giroud. Hazard's ability to draw in defenders also opens up space for late runners; evidence of this is Kante's increased movement into the box to finish off the attack.

The defensive end of Chelsea's game is yet to blossom; their inability to deal with cutbacks and crosses from the byline may hurt them in this game where the full-backs will be critical. If Chelsea's midfield can maintain their shape and cut passing lanes for Liverpool to transition quickly then they stand a chance to hurt Liverpool.

Additionally, they need to be aware of the space vacated by Alonso when he bombs forward and ensure that either Salah or Mane isn't in a 1v1 situation with either Luiz or Rudiger. The key for Liverpool will be to ensure that their creative midfielders aren't out pressed by their corresponding matchups and they can force Chelsea into unforced errors when they play out of the back.

Hazard will undoubtedly be the main man for Chelsea

Both the fixtures are definitely going to live up to all the hype and hopefully, we all will witness a high scoring spectacle. The winner(if there is) across both fixtures will definitely establish themselves as favourites to challenge Manchester City. The stakes are high even in the cup game as both managers are under pressure to win silverware, so rest assured we are in for a treat.

Probable lineups for the cup game:

Liverpool - Mignolet; Clyne, Gomez, Matip, Moreno; Wjinaldum, Milner, Henderson; Shaqiri, Sturridge, Firmino,

Chelsea - Kepa; Zappacosta, Cahill, Christensen, Emerson; Kante, Jorginho, Barkley; Moses, Morata, Pedro

Probable lineups for the Premier League game:

Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Wjinaldum, Milner, Keita; Salah, Firmino, Mane

Chelsea: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic; Willian, Giroud, Hazard