Predicted Chelsea lineup against Liverpool: No rest, no beard, no Moses, no hope?

Couple bad news from Antonio Conte’s press conference this afternoon: Victor Moses will only be fit for the bench and the beard is gone. Apparently, his daughter said that it made him look old — I also enjoyed Ken Early’s description of him as a submarine captain — and so it’s gone. The beard was a perfect two wins from two, both 4-0 wins away. Really could’ve used that beard tomorrow, Antonio!

“[Moses’s] condition is good. For sure he needs a bit of time to recover the best form. Tomorrow he is in our squad. I think I want to put him on the bench, and then to decide if there is the necessity to put him on or not. I am very happy because now he is fine, but he needs a bit of time to find the best physical condition.”

-Antonio Conte; source: Chelsea FC

With Moses on the bench, the question of Zappacosta, who didn’t exactly have the best game on Wednesday, is brought back into focus. Can he be trusted for a third game in eight days? Is he physically capable? The only other option is shifting Cesar Azpilicueta out wide, which, come to think of it, may not be the worst idea given the speed and trickery present on either wing for Liverpool.

The rest of the lineup, in a 3-5-2 since it’s a big game, more or less picks itself.

3-5-2:
Courtois | Cahill, Christensen, Rudiger | Alonso, Fabregas, Kante, Bakayoko, Azpilicueta | Hazard, Morata

The WAGNH community’s preferred lineup is the same which beat Manchester United at home and West Brom away. Zappacosta and Moses both finished with 47%, so I gave the start to the fitter option.

3-5-2 (92%):
Courtois (99%) | Cahill (67%), Christensen (93%), Azpilicueta (99+%) | Alonso (98%), Fabregas (86%), Kante (99+%), Bakayoko (94%), Zappacosta (47%) | Hazard (99%), Morata (99+%)