Chelsea striker Diego Costa. (Photo : Getty Images)
English Premier League squads Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC face each other this Wednesday, July 27 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for a 2016 International Champions Cup match. Their fixture is part of the United States and Europe leg of the said friendlies tournament.
Chelsea is coming off their first preseason win after they thrashed Austrian Football Bundesliga side Wolfsberger AC, 3-0, at the Wörthersee Stadion last Wednesday, as per Goal.
Three different Chelsea players scored a goal each, namely attacking midfielder Bertrand Traoré, midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and defender Nathaniel Chalobah at the 41st, 84th, and 90th minutes respectively, to pull off the three-goal shutout.
It was the first victory for new head coach Antonio Conte in his current Blues stint after the Pensioners succumbed to a 0-2 friendly loss to another Austrian club, SK Rapid Wien, during the manager's debut game last July 16.
Meanwhile, Liverpool remained undefeated after four friendly games so far this preseason.
Their most recent match was a 2-0 blanking of Football League Championship squad Huddersfield Town AFC at the John Smith's Stadium also last Wednesday, Sports Mole reported.
Serbian midfielder Marko Grujic opened the scoring for head coach Jürgen Klopp's men at the 31st minute off an assist from surprise center-forward starter Roberto Firmino.
Brazilian star Philippe Coutinho should have doubled the lead before halftime but his penalty kick was stopped by Huddersfield goalkeeper Joel Coleman.
Both teams fielded in their substitutes in the second half which caused the intensity level to drop until Spanish defender Alberto Moreno sank a penalty kick right at the stroke of halftime amidst the crowd's boos.
It was the fourth straight friendly win by the Reds after they defeated the Tranmere Rovers, Fleetwood Town, Wigan Athletic, and finally Huddersfield in the said order.
Conte is set to face another high-profile manager in Klopp and so both teams are expected to measure each of their clubs' progress in the offseason.
The predicted result is a tough 2-1 win for Chelsea.
Chelsea starting lineup (4-5-1 formation): Begovic; Aina, Ivanovic, Terry, Djilobodji; William, Oscar, Moses, Traore, Matic; Costa
Liverpool starting lineup (4-3-2-1 formation): Karius; Randall, Leiva, Lovren, Moreno; Stewart, Ejaria, Grujic; Mané, Coutinho; Firmino
