Confirmed Chelsea XI vs Liverpool: Kepa starts, starlet gets nod from Lampard

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Chelsea take on Liverpool in their FA Cup fifth round tie on Tuesday night hoping to keep their hopes of winning silverware alive this season.

The Blues continue to hold on to fourth spot in the Premier League as they look to return to the Champions League next year, but with their deficit to Bayern Munich in their round-of-16 tie in mind, the FA Cup is arguably their most realistic chance of a trophy this season.

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In turn, boss Frank Lampard has gone with a strong starting line-up as seen in the club’s tweet below, with an experienced attacking trio in particular as Olivier Giroud, Pedro and Willian get the nod up top.

Talented 18-year-old youngster Billy Gilmour is given a chance to impress in midfield alongside Mateo Kovacic and Ross Barkley, while Antonio Rudiger returns to the line-up to partner Kurt Zouma in the heart of the defence.

Meanwhile, after his recent absence from the XI, goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga returns between the posts to replace Willy Caballero, as he’ll be looking to put in a top performance to re-establish himself as the first choice for Lampard.

Interestingly though, despite being set for a three-game ban, there is no place for Jorginho as perhaps it could have been an opportunity to rest one of the other players ahead of his upcoming absence.

With Liverpool looking to respond after their first league defeat of the season at Watford this past weekend, it promises to be an intriguing encounter at Stamford Bridge, one that Chelsea hope to come out of on top to advance to the next round.

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