Uefa Super Cup preview

The Uefa Super Cup is this Wednesday in Istanbul. The winners of the Champions League, Liverpool face the winners of the Europa League, Chelsea. There have been 7 previous Super Cups played between domestic teams, however, only represented by Italy and Spain, and this will be the first time the first that there will be two English teams.

Liverpool started the season well on the weekend, they faced Norwich and beat them 4-1 comfortably. The scoreline could have been bigger, however, Liverpool seemed to switch off a bit in the second half and it could be seen that a couple of players still needed to improve their fitness. Liverpool will be happy that Mane got a few minutes under his belt and could be in contention to start on Wednesday.

Klopp will be eager to win his first trophy of the season and it is the first time he is competing in the Uefa Super Cup after losing finals in both the Champions League and the Europa League various times. Liverpool have won the competition three times with their last one coming in 2005.

Lampard got his Chelsea managerial career to one of the worst starts possible. His side lost 4-0 to Manchester United on Sunday and he will be wanting to prove doubters wrong by winning his first trophy as a manager. It will be a difficult one, because his Chelsea side’s defense is shaky, and Liverpool’s attack is one of the most feared in Europe. He will have learned from his mistakes on the weekend and there were still positives in the match that he will build on. Chelsea have competed in the Super Cup three times previously, winning their first in 1998 and then losing back to back cups in 2012 and 2013.

This will be the 11th time that Liverpool and Chelsea meet in European competition, with Liverpool only winning two, Chelsea winning three and there being five draws. There is no possibility of a draw on Wednesday as it is a final and if the match is level after 90 minutes the game will go into extra time and potentially penalties. This time around Klopp’s men are expected to come out victorious.