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And then there were two. Liverpool's penultimate league fixture is their last home game of the season, a re-scheduled match against Chelsea on Wednesday evening. The London club has nothing left to play for but pride, as they are stuck an insurmountable ten points behind Liverpool in ninth place. The Reds, on the other hand, are in eighth place now, and only two points behind Southampton in sixth, with one game in hand. Sixth place would guarantee European qualification for next season, should Liverpool not clinch the Europa League trophy next week, and seventh place would all but guarantee it.
Plus, whether it matters or not, it always feels good to beat Chelsea. As an example of this phenomenon, look no further than last Halloween when new manager Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool came back from an early deficit to dominate Chelsea in a 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge. It was the first match that had Liverpool fans genuinely thrilled by the team Klopp was creating.
Danny Ward is out for the rest of the season, but it was always likely that we'd see Mignolet in the goal for this game anyway. Klopp's chosen line up on Sunday against Watford mixed Academy players with a few veterans in order to keep his key players healthy and rested for the Europa League final. It worked a treat at the weekend, with Liverpool notching a professional win against Watford, thanks to goals from Joe Allen and Roberto Firmino. Klopp may decide that the occasion of playing against Chelsea in the last home game of the season warrants a more competitive team than the one that he fielded against Watford.
As for Chelsea, John Terry -- aka The Nicest Man In Football -- was sent off in Chelsea's loss to Sunderland on Saturday, putting an abrupt end to his good bye tour. Pedro, Loic Remy, and Kurt Zouma will all be unavailable to Hiddink due to injury.
For Liverpool:
Mignolet
Flanagan, Lovren, Toure, Clyne
Can, Milner
Lallana, Firmino, Coutinho
Sturridge
If Flanagan has the gas to play two games in a week, expect to see him in the line up to rest Moreno, since Clyne got the weekend off. Depending on Can's fitness levels, he may come off of the bench instead of starting this one, because of his recent, miraculous injury recovery. Allen has made a case for himself and could keep his place alongside Milner to give Can another rest. Likewise, Lucas is another contender both for that midfield role and for another game playing in defense. Toure's been a workhorse this season, but Klopp may not want to add the extra miles to his 35-year-old legs and tempt fate. Firmino relieved Coutinho after 60 minutes on Sunday, so they should both be ready for this game. Benteke performed well against Watford, so while it's unlikely, there's a chance Klopp could play him again and keep Sturridge to substitute appearances ahead of a full ninety in the final.
Definitely out of contention for this match are captain Jordan Henderson, striker Divock Origi, previously mentioned goalkeeper Danny Ward, and the Liverpool injury list mainstays this season, Danny Ings and Joe Gomez.
Kickoff is set for 8:00PM BST/3:00PM EST Wednesday. Television coverage will be on Sky Sports 2 in the UK and NBC Sports Network for the US. Elsewhere, Foxtel Play in Australia, TSN in Canada, Star Sports HD 1 Asia in India, and SuperSport 3 Africa in Kenya are carrying the match. You can find other listings at LiveSoccerTV. For Online radio, fans worldwide can check out LFCTV GO.
We'll be keeping you updated with all the buildup to the game, including team news as it's released, our live matchday thread and post-match recaps from The Liverpool Offside staff. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account to have your say on all the action as it happens.