It’s looking increasingly likely that Liverpool’s upcoming visit to Stamford Bridge at the weekend could follow in the footsteps of an earlier delayed meeting with Wolves following Queen Elizabeth II’s passing.
Discussions are taking place between football clubs and the police in light of the potential impact of the monarch’s funeral next Monday on the viability of fixtures around that date given an expected police shortage will invite safety concerns.
One such game that has fallen under the microscope is that of Chelsea’s hosting of Jurgen Klopp’s men on Sunday, which could be postponed should an alternative course of action fail to go ahead.
A reasonable solution already tabled is that of swapping around the game for the Anfield meeting on 21st January – one that would make a certain amount of sense.
That being said, the reality remains that it would benefit the German tactician and his side infinitely more to see the tie in question suffer a similar fate to the clash with Bruno Lage’s men.
Taking into account our injury list for starters, the addition of Andy Robertson to the ensemble of sidelined stars leaves us with NINE missing men – many of whom will be back in contention for a place in the matchday squad after the international break.
The arrival of Graham Potter in the hotseat at the London-based outfit also means that we’d be subjected to the dreaded new manager bounce at a time when we can ill afford to have the odds further stacked against us.
We won’t get quite the clean break many will have hoped for with a Champions League group stage clash against Ajax due to go ahead as planned.
Still, pushing back the game with Chelsea would allow Klopp over two weeks (18 days) to work with his side – at least, those without international commitments – and await the return of injured stars, whilst hopefully avoiding further additions to the injury room, ahead of our hosting of Potter’s former club Brighton on 1st October.
With our form inviting question marks over our capability of challenging for major honours this term, a relatively clean break away from competitive action could mean the world of good for this beleaguered Liverpool squad.