What a day for football. This Saturday, one of the most trophy-laden active coaches, Jurgen Klopp, will sit on the bench for the 1000th time in a competitive game. His Liverpool will welcome Chelsea at Anfield in the 21st round of the Premier League, and in that match we could see the debut of the 13th most expensive signing in history, Mykhailo Mudryk.If only the results of these teams were better, if only this duel had a greater importance than who will be ninth and who will be tenth. Because currently, two of the last three champions of England are exactly at the division of this position, with 28 points each. Admittedly, the Blues have played one match more, so they are in a more difficult position.Liverpool lost the last two games quite easily, first against Brentford 3-1 and then against Brighton 3-0. However, when playing at Anfield, Klopp’s team is much better, having triumphed in six out of nine league matches in front of their fans, with just one defeat. Given that Chelsea have not won at Anfield in the Premier League since 2014, the situation they are in is even more difficult.We have to mention one more piece of information. Chelsea have not won any of their last seven domestic games, in all competitions, played away from Stamford Bridge. Goalless draw against Brentford and 1-1 against Nottingham Forest, a loss against Brighton, Manchester City defeated them twice, also Newcastle and Fulham inflicted a loss each.Anfield awaits, come on Chelsea! ✊ #LivChe pic.twitter.com/KTMHUFPCzm— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 21, 2023 The management is trying to shake up the disastrous Blues with transfers, this winter Joao Felix, David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Noni Madueke and Benoit Badiashile have already been hired. However, the most dust was raised by the arrival of Mudryk from Shakhtar for 70,000,000 euros immediately, plus 30,000,000 through easily achievable bonuses. So, when all that money is paid out to the Ukrainians, Mudryk will be the 13th most expensive footballer of all time.Everyone will say – too much. Given that the 22-year-old winger has so far won only one trophy during his career, the Ukrainian Cup. He played 77 matches in senior football, of which only 12 were in the Champions League (697 minutes on the field), and eight games for the Ukrainian national team. If the conditions were normal, i.e. if there was no doubt that the Ukrainian army was financed through this transfer, Mudryk’s move to London directly from Eastern Europe for that money would be a real sensation. This way, maybe the fans’ expectations of him are not as high as they would be under normal conditions.Chelsea manager Graham Potter announced Mudryk’s debut at Anfield.”We all have to understand that Mykhailo comes from another league and that he has to adapt. He is a young footballer, he has a lot of potential, but he has already gained enough experience. He is great. We are happy that he is here, we are looking forward to his start in the Chelsea shirt,” said Potter.Mudryk’s debut wouldn’t have to be so rushed if Potter had the full squad at his disposal. However, he doesn’t. The list of injured players is huge – Reece James (knee), Ben Chilwell (thigh), N’Golo Kante (thigh), Wesley Fofana (knee), Denis Zakaria (quadriceps), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (calf), Christian Pulisic (knee), Raheem Sterling (hamstring), Edouard Mendy (finger) and Armando Broja (knee).It hasn’t gone according to plan for Liverpool or Chelsea this season. Liverpool in ninth?! Chelsea in 10th?!Maybe their game on Saturday will be an epic. Maybe it won’t.Either way, here are some throwbacks to better days and unforgettable moments between the two ⚔️[THREAD] pic.twitter.com/5CFWqltq7H— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 21, 2023 All that is more reason for Klopp to be optimistic before his big milestone. In the 999th coaching match, his team defeated Wolverhampton 1-0 in the FA Cup on Tuesday and thus at least regained their shaken confidence.This will be the German’s 409th match as a Liverpool coach, before that he only managed Borussia Dortmund and Mainz on his own. Since that February 28, 2001 and his debut on the Mainz bench against Duisburg (1-0), Klopp has won one Champions League (2019), one Club World Cup (2020), two Bundesligas (2011 and 2012), one Premier League (2020), and one European Super Cup, German Cup and FA Cup each. He was officially declared the best coach in the world twice, in 2019 and 2020.##EDITORS_CHOICE##”My career could have gone in a completely different direction. Out of the first seven matches, I think we won six, and if we had lost one more we would have been relegated. Although five wins in the first seven matches is a huge success, if we had been relegated to the third division, my career would have ended practically before it started. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. A thousand games…” said Klopp.”Honestly, that’s a crazy number. I never thought about these numbers, that I could even last that long. My beard is gray now, which was not the case when I came to England. I don’t know if it’s because of age or Liverpool. I haven’t had a dull second in my career, and that’s the best thing you can say about your job. It doesn’t get any better than this. I absolutely love the excitement, the pressure, all the good and bad moments. It’s all in the job description. Nobody wins all the time, I realized early on that I don’t expect that, but I still try to make it that way.”What an achievement, boss 🙌 pic.twitter.com/1nvPUP6r80— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 21, 2023 PREMIER LEAGUESaturday15.30: (1.96) Liverpool (3.60) Chelsea (4.40)18.00: (2.80) Bournemouth (3.00) Nott.Forest (2.81)18.00: (3.60) Leicester (3.50) Brighton (2.19)18.00: (2.95) Southampton (3.25) Aston Villa (2.65)18.00: (1.89) West Ham (3.50) Everton (5.00)20.30: (4.50) Crystal Palace (3.50) Newcastle (1.96)Sunday17.00: (2.55) Leeds (3.40) Brentford (3.00)17.00: (1.22) Man.City (6.75) Wolverhampton (14.0)19.30: (1.95) Arsenal (3.60) Man.Utd. (4.20)Monday23.00: (3.35) Fulham (3.50) Tottenham (2.30)***odds are subject to change
