Chelsea's first-team squad conducted one of their final training sessions at Stamford Bridge ahead of facing Liverpool on Sunday. Mauricio Pochettino will return to SW6 on Sunday afternoon to oversee his first game in charge of the Blues with Jurgen Klopp's men coming to town.
A successful USA pre-season tour, where Chelsea took home the Premier League Summer Series, has given Pochettino the perfect platform heading into the new season. Andrey Santos, Nicolas Jackson and Ian Maatsen all impressed, however a major injury blow will surely impact his plans.
Nicolas Jackson had been sharing the role while the Blues were Stateside but now looks set for a starting berth on the opening day. New club captain Reece James will also be in place to start while Levi Colwill could make his first competitive appearance under Pochettino after signing a new bumper contract.
On the other side of things, Liverpool have seen a number of midfielders depart which has seen them challenge Chelsea for the signature of Moises Caicedo. A £110million agreement has been reached with Brighton, but the player still prefers a switch to west London.
However, this weekend the focus will be away from Caicedo and firmly on what happens on the pitch. With that said, football.london has pulled together everything spotted in one of Chelsea's final training sessions ahead of the fixture.
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Nkunku replacement
The summer signing of Christopher Nkunku was a major statement of intent by Chelsea, however it is possible they won't see him in action competitively until 2024.
The damage to his meniscus is severe and it has posed a question to Pochettino over how to replace the France international. Michael Olise, Mohammed Kudus and Rayan Cherki have all been linked as potential attacking additions, but his replacement may already be at the club.
Alongside Nkunku arriving, Diego Moreira also made the move this summer and he looks set to be a part of Pochettino's first-team plans. While Cesare Casadei was absent as he gets closer to a Leicester loan move, Moreira was still present and him remaining in west London could hint he will be the chosen man to replace Nkunku in Pochettino's 18-man squad for the weekend.
New signings
Chelsea have made a number of signings this summer with two of the newest additions in Robert Sanchez and Axel Disasi taking in Stamford Bridge for the first time as Chelsea players.
The Blues signed Disasi from Monaco earlier this month as the replacement for Wesley Fofana after he suffered a major knee injury. Sanchez meanwhile, has been acquired to compete for the No.1 spot with Kepa Arrizabalaga who has since been linked to a departure with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich interested.
The duo are unlikely to be in Pochettino's starting XI to face Liverpool, but a match day squad inclusion is certainly on the cards for both.
James role change
Reece James being confirmed as Chelsea's new club captain looks to have made an impact on his role in training. Injury issues and fitness has been a problem in recent times for the full-back and that was again prominent in pre-season.
However, he now looks to be fully fit but on the training pitch he was not captured involved in many drills. Instead the majority of photos that included James showed him alongside Pochettino with the duo deep in discussion, which appears to show the impact of his new leadership role.
