Playing for 90
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Chelsea – Liverpool combined XI

By David Cambridge

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Adam Lallana of Liverpool and Eden Hazard of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on September 16, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Adam Lallana of Liverpool and Eden Hazard of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on September 16, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images) /
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LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – JANUARY 21: Jordan Henderson (captain) of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Swansea City at Anfield on January 21, 2017 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – JANUARY 21: Jordan Henderson (captain) of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Swansea City at Anfield on January 21, 2017 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty Images) /

Right midfield: Jordan Henderson

After those shaky first couple of seasons, Henderson is at last blossoming into the all-action midfielder Liverpool thought they signed from Sunderland way back in 2011. Having taken the arm-band from Gerrard, the England man is demonstrating the lung-busting leadership qualities you would expect of a Reds captain, and – as Chelsea discovered in the reverse fixture when he smashed a screamer past Courtois from all of thirty-five yards – he has a bit of quality to his game as well.

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True: Henderson is not a natural wing-back, having mainly been used as a central midfielder at Anfield, but until the beginning of this season, neither was Victor Moses, whose stuttering career has been transformed thanks to Conte’s decision to play him there. Henderson’s crossing is generally on point, and while he can’t match the Nigerian for pace, he has the work-rate and tactical nous to play the role – particularly with a defence as strong as this one behind him.

In the absence of Ramires, Henderson is probably the one type of player missing from Conte’s squad: a dynamic midfielder effective in equal parts in both boxes who can chip in with a few goals here and there.

This is a profile Cesc Fabregas might have fitted a few years ago, but not since he left Arsenal for a return to his boyhood team Barcelona in 2011, and certainly not under Conte, who has rarely trusted the Spaniard with a starting spot in his team outside of those occasions when injury has forced his hand.

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