Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

Kepa, Gilmour and Emerson start, no Barkley - The team Chelsea fans want to see vs Liverpool

Chelsea are in FA Cup fifth round action tonight as they welcome Premier League leaders Liverpool to Stamford Bridge.

Following a 3-0 Champions League round of 16 first-leg defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich, this competition is realistically last hope of claiming a piece of silverware this season.

In the last round against Hull City, head coach Frank Lampard made as many as eight changes and he's promised to name a competitive team despite just three days removed from the Bournemouth draw.

FA Cup Preview: Chelsea v Liverpool

"A team that gives everything to try to get through to the next round, against a very strong Liverpool team," he told reporters during his pre-match press conference. "I believe in the squad, sometimes you have to make changes and you have to go game by game and case by case on that.

"The team I put out should give everything to compete with Liverpool, as we have done twice this season.

"We've competed very well against them and were probably unfortunate to lose on both occasions. So we have to approach it with the same spirit, to try to win."

In terms of team news, Lampard will be without as many as four first-team players for the clash against Jurgen Klopp's side who were beaten 3-0 by Watford last time out.

Callum Hudson-Odoi, Tammy Abraham, N'Golo Kante and Christian Pulisic are unavailable because of injury, while Andreas Christensen is facing a late fitness test

However, Jorginho is available as his two-game ban after picking up 10 bookings this season only applies to Premier League games.

Ahead of the game at Stamford Bridge, football.london  offered fans the chance to step into Lampard's shoes and pick the team to take on the Reds.

Supporters were asked who they'd like to start the game against Liverpool and those who responded came up with some interesting selections.

What jumps out immediately is a change of formation. Lampard has opted for three centre-backs in recent outings against Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Bournemouth, but fans want him to revert to a 4-3-3 system.

And in between the sticks the popular choice is for Kepa Arrizabalaga to make his first appearance since the 2-2 draw against Arsenal in January.

In front of him fans want Antonio Rudiger and Emerson Palmieri to come in for Fikayo Tomori and Marcos Alonso.

Wonderkid Billy Gilmour is the popular choice to come into a midfield alongside Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic which means no room for Mason Mount or Ross Barkley.

In attack, fans are calling for Michy Batshuayi to lead the line flanked by Willian and Pedro.

Chelsea XI: Kepa; James, Zouma, Rudiger, Emerson; Jorginho, Kovacic, Gilmour; Willian, Batshuayi, Pedro

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.