Chelsea can target Liverpool player who was “ragdolled” last week with “long balls” | OneFootball

Today is the day – we take on Liverpool in our biggest Premier League game of the season yet.

Last year we beat them once (after they had just won the league and looked hungover) and lost at Anfield in a close game.

This year they’ve started in great form, unlike us. But there are clues out there that we can hurt them. On the London is Blue podcast, their analyst CFCCentral looked at some of their issues right now and how we could hurt them.

You can see Central speaking in the clip embedded here:

Chelsea know where to hit Liverpool

Estevao Willian takes on Calvin Bassey. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The Liverpool full backs are really dangerous in attack – but are perhaps a little vulnerable defensively, often leaving big gaps. That’s something Chelsea should certainly be thinking about.

“The full backs often push high, If you win the ball and go the same side of the fullback that’s pushed up, then you have a one vs. one against the opposition’s centre back… go quick, go direct, long balls do a lot of damage.”

Sadly long balls haven’t really been in Chelsea’s armoury under Enzo Maresca – although he’s been a little more open minded of late. Get Estevao into dangerous positions against Milos Kerkez and we could be in clover.

Konate could be vulnerable to Chelsea targetting

Individually, one thing the Blues can do is target Ibrahima Konate. He’s gone from being one of the top central defenders in the league to really struggling of late:

“His form has just gone off a cliff… he was ragdolled by Mateta in the Crystal Palace game.”

It’s never easy to take on Konate and van Dijk as a pair – they’re just such monsters. Poor Joao Pedro is going to have a long, physical afternoon on his hands trying to get blood from a stone.