Chelsea Team news Uefa super cup update

The Blues are looking to bounce back from our defeat at Old Trafford on Sunday and there is no better opportunity than a big night in Europe. Here, we preview the action with everything you need to know…

The game takes place on Wednesday 14 August, kick-off 10pm local time (8pm in the UK).

There will be a live stream on the Fifth Stand app and this website at the following times, and live commentary of the game itself:

6.40pm to 7.05pm – Live Team News
7.15pm to 7.35pm – Live Liverpool vs Chelsea Build-Up
7.55pm to approx. 9.55pm – Live Commentary of Liverpool vs Chelsea

Sam Matterface is presenting with former Blues Pat Nevin and Frank Sinclair as guests.

The Super Cup is held at the start of every season between the reigning Europa League and Champions League winners. Liverpool are involved this term courtesy of their victory over Tottenham in Madrid, while the Blues head to Turkey courtesy of our comprehensive 4-1 defeat of Arsenal in Baku.

If the scores are level after 90 minutes, extra-time will be played and then a penalty shoot-out if required.

First held in 1973, the annual European football curtain-raiser was initially a two-legged tie up until 1997. The first contest was held at the San Siro in Milan, although Monaco’s Stade Louis II was the Super Cup’s permanent home between 1998 and 2012, both years in which Chelsea were involved.

Besiktas hosts this year’s Super Cup in the city of Istanbul, which encompasses both Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait. The 41,000-capacity stadium was officially opened in April 2016.

This will be the first time that the video assistant referee (VAR) system is used in the Super Cup. Stephanie Frappart will become the first woman to referee the final of a UEFA men’s competition.

The Blues have participated in three Super Cup finals, most recently in 2013 when Bayern Munich beat us on penalties in Prague. The season before that, following our Champions League triumph over the Germans, we took on Atletico Madrid, where a hat-trick from Falcao gave the Spaniards a 4-1 win.

Our only previous appearance in 1998 was a winning one as we headed to Monaco under the charge of Gianluca Vialli to take on Guus Hiddink’s Real Madrid. Gus Poyet’s strike seven minutes from time was enough to secure the trophy.

Liverpool will be involved in the showpiece for the sixth time in Istanbul following earlier appearances in 1977, 1978, 1984, 2001 and 2005. The 2019 Super Cup is the first all-English contest and the eighth overall to feature two teams from the same country.

N’Golo Kante could feature from the start for Chelsea following the Frenchman’s 17-minute cameo off the bench at Old Trafford on Sunday. The Blues may also be bolstered by the return at some point of Antonio Rudiger and Willian, who Frank Lampard confirmed yesterday will be on the bench. 

Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that goalkeeper Alisson will miss the next few weeks after picking up a calf injury in Friday’s 4-1 Premier League win over Norwich City. Nathaniel Clyne is also a long-term injury absentee, though the Reds are otherwise fully fit.

The travelling squad in full is:

Kepa Arrizabalaga
Willy Caballero
Jamie Cumming
Antonio Rudiger
Marcos Alonso
Andreas Christensen
Kurt Zouma
Davide Zappacosta
Cesar Azpilicueta
Fikayo Tomori
Emerson
Jorginho
Billy Gilmour
N’Golo Kante
Ross Barkley
Mateo Kovacic
Mason Mount
Willian
Pedro
Kenedy
Christian Pulisic
Tammy Abraham
Olivier Giroud
Michy Batshuayi

Since the start of the 2000s, Wednesday evening’s game will be the 60th meeting between Chelsea and Liverpool in all competitions, making it the most played fixture between English sides in all competitions in the 21st century.