Antonio Conte expects Chelsea's David Luiz to make instant impression during debut against Liverpool
Antonio Conte is convinced David Luiz will make an instant impression for Chelsea tomorrow night and prove why the club was right to re-sign him.
Luiz, who rejoined from Paris St Germain for £34m two weeks ago, will definitely make his second debut for the club due to captain John Terry being ruled out with an ankle injury.
The Brazil international had a number of critics during his first spell at the club between 2011-14 and his return has sparked surprise.
Chelsea are taking on Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, the same opponents and venue where he first appeared in a blue shirt five years ago.
And Conte said: “Tomorrow David Luiz will play for the first time with us and we are confident about this.
“We expect him to play very well, with great attention. We know David is a great player. We are working to put him in the best condition to give us the best of him.
“When a new player arrives, it's normal that they need time to adapt to our concept and idea of football.
“But tomorrow we need him, we need David Luiz to play. He's worked a lot the last few days on defensive situations with the ball, when we are in possession.”
Terry suffered the injury in the final minute against Swansea and looks on course to be back in time to face Arsenal a week on Saturday.
'@DavidLuiz_4 will play tomorrow.' - Antonio Conte https://t.co/NdSkDI389r
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 15, 2016
Conte added: “John strained the ligaments of his ankle. The doctor told me, after 10 days, he can come back. But the player is working, working very hard. Today he had a training session to recover.”
Another defender who arrived on transfer deadline day, Marcus Alonso, looks more likely to make his debut against Leicester in the League Cup on Tuesday night.
The left back joined from Fiorentina for £23m and Conte said: “Alonso is a good player and I'm pleased. During the training sessions I saw good things.
“I think Alonso is ready to play tomorrow. If there is a necessity, he can play. This is true. I'm sure about this.
“Also, after this game, we have a Cup game, a tough game against Leicester. That can be a good opportunity to see Marcos Alonso.”
Chelsea take on Liverpool knowing they can climb to the top of the table with a victory.
However Jurgen Klopp’s side will travel to west London full of confidence after impressive wins over Arsenal and champions Leicester this term.
Conte said: “I expect a strong match, very tough against a strong team. They play with high intensity, they bring many players in for offensive situations. We must pay great attention tomorrow.
“I have great difficult describing the other people...but Jurgen Klopp is a great manager, one of the best in the world, and is showing great capacity at Liverpool to be a great manager.”