Liverpool have been dealt a blow ahead of their Premier League clash with Chelsea on Tuesday evening after Virgil van Dijk was ruled out at the last minute.
The Reds face the Blues in a battle of two of the division’s crisis clubs, with Jurgen Klopp’s men slipping to eighth and manager-less Chelsea now in the bottom half in 11th.
Liverpool are looking to bounce back following their 4-1 humbling by Manchester City on Saturday afternoon, but will have to do so without a key player in Van Dijk.
The Athletic report that the Dutchman has not made the trip to Stamford Bridge as he is suffering with illness.
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Klopp will be hoping to recover his star centre-back in time for the visit of Premier League leaders Arsenal this weekend.
Liverpool will move into sixth place with a win at Chelsea if Brighton fail to beat Bournemouth. Seventh-placed Brentford return to action on Wednesday night with a trip to Manchester United, who slipped out of the top four following Tottenham’s draw at Everton on Monday.
Chelsea: Kepa; Fofana, Koulibaly, Cucurella; James, Fernandez, Kante, Kovacic, Chilwell; Felix, Haverz
Liverpool: Alisson; Gomez, Matip, Konate, Tsimikas; Fabinho, Henderson, Jones; Jota, Firmino, Nunez
