Friday Night Football this week is going to be a Belgian affair.
With Simon Mignolet and Divock Origi potentially on a Liverpool side facing the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard and Michy Batshuayi, there will be a lot of friendly rivalry going on.
In fact, the Liverpool goalkeeper gave an interview to DH in Belgium mentioning exactly that, and giving us a run down of his relationship with his upcoming opponents.
On Eden Hazard, who has scored three goals against him as a Chelsea player, he said: “I know his qualities, he knows mine. Eden is our (national team) captain. He’s a great guy on the pitch but also off it. He’s loyal, easy-going and always himself.”
One man, however, who could be making his first ever Chelsea-Liverpool appearance is Michy Batshuayi, who moved from Marseille over the summer for around £33m.
The 22-year-old has played the role of the super-sub majestically this season so far, with three goals and an assist in just over 120 minutes of football, which doesn’t surprise Mignolet.
He explained: “He’s a real fox in the box. At Marseille, he showed enough times he can score a goal. But he’s got other qualities, otherwise Chelsea wouldn’t have bought him. He’s young and has a big future ahead of him in the Premier League.”
As for Thibaut Courtois, it’s not a question of rivalry.
He said: “It’s a game between Chelsea and Liverpool, not between Courtois and Mignolet. It’ll be great to see him again and chat to him a bit before and after the game. During the game, we won’t think of the other, only to keep a clean sheet.”
Basically, it’s all fun and games until you set foot on the pitch for Simon Mignolet. As it should be, really.
