Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel / Image: Action Images via Reuters
The giants meet in the third round of the English Premier League. Liverpool will receive this year's Champions League winner Chelsea on Saturday (6.30 p.m. CEST) – there will be another comparison between the two great German coaches Jürgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel. Both teams, like four others, have not lost any points, but West Ham United is unexpectedly ahead of the table.
Thanks to the unsurpassed yield of eight hits so far, the “hammers” are actually laughing from the top. If they also strike in the home game against Crystal Palace on Saturday, they would start a Premier League season with three wins for the first time. A few kilometers further north, Watford will be visiting Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday with ÖFB national goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann. The “Spurs” also started with two wins and received the news during the week that striker Harry Kane has postponed his plans to move and that he is loyal to the club this season.
The duel between Klopp and Tuchel, which once followed the former indirectly at Mainz and directly at BVB, has taken place 15 times so far. After Klopp had only lost one of the first 13 matches, Tuchel was the last twice the winner. Broken down there were nine Klopp wins, three successes by Tuchel and three draws. Tuchel achieved his first three against Klopp with Mainz against Klopp's Dortmund, but as Dortmund coach he remained without a win against his compatriot who had migrated to Liverpool.
Van Dijk versus Lukaku
On the lawn, the duel between Virgil van Dijk and Chelsea's 115 million euro man Romelu Lukaku could often be the focus of “Reds” against “Blues”. “It will be interesting against Lukaku,” said Klopp. Both teams started without conceding a goal, which should not be overrated given the opponents – Norwich and Burnley for Liverpool, Palace and Arsenal for Chelsea.
Arsenal, visiting champions Manchester City on Saturday, made a bad start with two defeats and 4-0 goals. The Gunners have lost their last seven league games against City.
