Liverpool and Chelsea go head-to-head twice this week in two mouth-watering fixtures in the League Cup followed by the Premier League.Both Jurgen Klopp and Maurizio Sarri will rest some of their key players for Wednesday night’s EFL Cup third round clash at Anfield.The priority, without doubt, will be to secure all three points in Saturday’s league fixture at Stamford Bridge.Liverpool remain unbeaten in the Premier League after six rounds of matches. In fact, they’re yet to drop a single point.Chelsea were level-pegging with the Reds prior to the weekend but dropped their first two points of the season against West Ham, who held Sarri’s men to a 0-0 draw at the London Stadium.West Ham could have snatched all three points at the death, however, when the ball fell perfectly to the head of Andriy Yarmolenko inside Chelsea’s penalty area.But the Blues were left breathing a huge sigh of relief as the Ukrainian winger produced a contender for miss of the season, heading wide from a matter of yards despite being unmarked.

Shearer has his say on Alonso ahead of Liverpool game

Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer watched that game and believes Alonso was the man responsible for allowing Yarmolenko that gilt-edged opportunity to win the match for West Ham.

He feels Liverpool’s fearsome front three can exploit the space that Alonso vacates next weekend. Basically, he doesn’t rate the Spaniard’s defensive qualities.

“At the back there are worries, too,” Shearer has written in his latest column for The Sun.

“Liverpool’s front three can take full advantage of the space Marcos Alonso leaves behind him if he bombs as far forward as he likes to.

“They will also be hoping he switches off again in the way he did to allow Andriy Yarmolenko a free header that should have won it.”

Shearer is right - and plenty of others agree

Alonso might be a must-have for Fantasy Football managers because of his attacking qualities - he has provided five assists and scored one goal in the league already this season - but Shearer isn’t the only person who feels the 27-year-old struggled with the defensive side of the game.

Here’s a selection of recent tweets from football fans saying more or less the same thing…

This is certainly an area of concern for Sarri ahead of the league fixture.

Can he trust Alonso to carry out his defensive duties against the league’s best attacking trio?

Or will he need to take his first-choice left-back out this weekend and adjust his system slightly?

Shearer can only see a Liverpool victory

In any case, Shearer only sees one outcome: a Liverpool victory.

“In addition to Alonso, I still have my doubts over having David Luiz in a back four,” Shearer adds. “Still, they might go out and prove me wrong next Saturday — and certainly in Hazard they have the matchwinner to do it.

“Liverpool, however, have them all over the place — and also the defence to stop Chelsea.

“The weaknesses they had last season have been addressed with a new goalkeeper in Alisson.

“The heart of their defence is arguably the best in Europe right now.

“A pairing of Virgil van Dijk alongside either Joel Matip or Joe Gomez is proving formidable, with only two goals conceded from six league games.

“So, while their attacking instincts will provide Hazard with more space than at West Ham, there’s still a back- line that will not give him an inch.

“It’s a big challenge. Too big, in my opinion, for this Chelsea side.”