I was sad to receive the news that Thiago Silva is leaving Chelsea at the end of the season. This brilliant Brazilian defender wanted to stay in the Chelsea/Cobham area because his family are settled, his sons play for Chelsea’s young team and he genuinely loves the club. He said this week, “Chelsea means a lot to me, I came here with the intention of only staying for a year and it ended up being four.” Regrettably the 39-year-old might not be seen in the Chelsea team again after sustaining a groin injury in the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa. Thiago has played 151 times for the Blues and also won the FIFA Club World Cup.
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Liverpool vs Tottenham
Liverpool return to action when they host Spurs on Sunday afternoon which leaves Jurgen Klopp just one remaining home match in charge at Anfield. The Reds have two more games after this and the campaign ends by entertaining Wolves on May 19. They could still reach 84 goals this season which would be their fifth highest since the Premier League was formed. A frustrating April saw the end of their title dreams. Following last weekend’s 2-2 draw with West Ham the players were given three days off from training. Andy Robertson and Harvey Elliot were in the medical room when the players returned on Wednesday morning. Both players were injured during the Hammers game at the London Stadium. Robertson in particular was desperate to avoid injury following his shoulder problem last October which meant a lengthy lay off. Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip, Diogo Jota, Ben Doak and Conor Bradley are all still injured and Robertson and Elliott were being assessed on Friday.
All indications are that Mo Salah is ready to play his part against Spurs following his argument with Jurgen Klopp last week at West Ham. Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo will be ready and either Salah or Elliot will start. Liverpool are strong at the back and Robertson (if fit), Van Dijk, Quanash and Alexander-Arnold will face Son Heung-Min, Kulusevski, Maddison and possibly Richarlison replacing the injured Werner. Defender Ben Davies will not play again this season after being injured in the defeat against Arsenal and the man he replaced Destiny Udogie is also out. Right-footed Emerson Royal or possibly centre-back Micky van de Ven will probably play. Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou said this week that his team needs more strengthening during the summer break and has again emphasized that Spurs are in an improving transition period and will be stronger next season. They are seven points behind Aston Villa with an inferior goal difference which makes Champions League football almost impossible next year given that the Premier League will probably not secure the extra fifth place being granted to the best performing European clubs.