N'Golo Kante fit to face Liverpool after Brighton cameo

N'Golo Kante is set to be fit to face Liverpool in the Premier League this weekend despite struggling with injury all season.

He's only played 898 minutes this term but will be in the squad to face the visitors at the very least.

The Frenchman has a knack for somehow always avoiding injury whenever it's time to face Liverpool and after coming off the bench against Brighton in their 1-1 draw, he could be in line to start against the Reds.

Kante, who reportedly earns £290,000/week, is world-class even if he's battled with injury in recent seasons and his presence on the pitch could be a real problem for Liverpool.

Thomas Tuchel has a decision to make on how he wants to play as Marcos Alonso is the only fit wingback at the club after Reece James suffered a hamstring tear and joins Ben Chilwell on the sidelines.

While there are a lot of great players in the Premier League, Kante is one that always plays out of his skin against Liverpool and is able to help Chelsea beat Jurgen Klopp's counter-pressing.

After half of the season, it's going to be fascinating to see how Tuchel and Klopp go head to head with their respective pressing systems and Kante's energy and understanding of when to apply pressure and when to hold back could be a major trump card for the Blues.

Especially given it's likely that Thiago won't be in the side to face Chelsea and so Liverpool will lack that precision and penetration that the former Bayern Munich star offers when on the pitch.

Additionally, Klopp's side look more vulnerable on the break which is where Callum Hudson-Odoi and co. have looked the most dangerous recently.

Ademola Lookman exploited this to perfection when Jordan Henderson didn't track his run and the Leicester City star sliced through Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk with ease.

While there are several key players that will be missing and Romelu Lukaku could be one of them after his controversial comments to Sky Sports but the tactical battle will still be great to watch.

And with so much on the line, Liverpool cannot afford to drop points otherwise they will be battling for second place and not first.

Make no mistake: Chelsea vs Liverpool is a title decider.