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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Nizaar Kinsella

Chelsea vs Liverpool: Three key issues for Bruno Saltor to fix in daunting debut

Chelsea take on Liverpool tonight in the debut of interim head coach Bruno Saltor.

The Spaniard has been handed the reins following Graham Potter’s sacking, with plenty of pressure still on the team as it approaches a languid mid-table finish.

Here are three key issues Bruno has to contend with on his first night in charge...

A lack of goals

Chelsea have managed just 29 goals in 28 Premier League games and have failed to score in nine of those matches this season. It is a dreadful return and Bruno could consider bringing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in from the cold.

Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic could also be brought back into the fold, and a more direct style could deliver a bigger goal threat.

Settle on a first-choice XI

Chelsea have too many players after spending more than £600million in the last two transfer windows. Graham Potter tried his best to keep his 32-man squad happy but Bruno should pick his best XI and stick with it.

Drastic times call for drastic measures and people-pleasing will not bring better results. The 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa showed how the Chelsea defence is particularly disjointed after all the changes.

Revive the superpowers of Reece James and N'Golo Kante

The injury-prone duo are arguably Chelsea's two best players. Against Liverpool, Kante will play his third match for Chelsea under a third different manager. He played just once for Potter due to a seven-month lay-off after hamstring surgery.

James's re-injury and muscle problems show how bringing a player back can be botched and is not straightforward.

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