Chelsea’s visit to Anfield on Thursday night will be one of Tuchel’s sternest tests till date, although Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are currently going through an uncertain patch this season – sitting one point behind the Blues and having lost four of the last five games.
Tuchel will look to maintain his unbeaten start going into his tenth game as the manager.
He gave his thoughts on the Reds in his pre-match conference, going on to call them ‘one of the best teams in Europe’.
In quotes picked up by football.london, Tuchel said:
“I am pretty relaxed. I am pretty sure Liverpool miss their fans, I know from experience the impact the Anfield crowd has on their team. Yes, they have dropped points, many times not deserved and they have had some unlucky results. They are one of the best teams in Europe but we are confident we can go there and do what we have to do to win.”
However, the most significant update came in the form of Thiago Silva’s injury, who has been out since Chelsea’s win over Tottenham last month:
“I assume he will train today but he is not at 100% so he will not join the squad for Liverpool. Everyone else is available.”
Speaking further on Callum Hudson-Odoi and Tammy Abraham, Tuchel said:
“Callum has no issue at all. He was training full with the team yesterday.
Tammy had some problems yesterday on his ankle again. Let’s see how this works out today. It’s my job to push him to his limits. He lacks a bit of luck Tammy, not only in games but also in training, and once the last touch comes back he will be a player we will push forward.”
The tie will be a key decider in the fight for a place in Europe after Chelsea failed to get ahead of West Ham United thanks to the stalemate against Manchester United.