Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso believes Liverpool are beginning to see the best of Florian Wirtz ahead of a possible reunion with the playmaker this evening.

Former Liverpool midfielder Alonso will return to his old stomping ground when Chelsea make the trip to Anfield in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

And Alonso could come up against his former Bayer Leverkusen charge Wirtz, should the Germany star recover from an ankle injury in time for the match.

Despite recording three goal contributions in his last four games, Wirtz was criticised in the lead up to Sunday’s clash with Brighton and Hove Albion.

Bayern Munich legend Uli Hoeness said the 23-year-old should have chosen the German giants over Liverpool when leaving Leverkusen in the summer of 2025.

However, Alonso has sent encouraging words in the direction of Wirtz, with whom he won the Bundesliga and German Cup double with Leverkusen in 2023-24.

In his pre-match press conference, Alonso said: “I can only speak about my time with Flo in Bayer Leverkusen and for sure one of the main reasons for me being here is the time that I spent with him in Leverkusen.

“He was a special player, he helped me so much, I learned so much from him and now that he's in Liverpool I'm following him and we know that the next step is always an interesting one and he's getting there.”

Wirtz struggled in underperforming Liverpool team last season

Wirtz joined Liverpool from Leverkusen for €125million (£116m) in June 2025, turning down rival interest from Bayern and Manchester City in favour of the Reds.

However, despite recording a respectable seven goals and 10 assists last season, more was expected from the player regarded as the jewel of German football.

Some observers have made allowances for Wirtz given the Liverpool squad - with the exception of one or two players - massively underperformed last season.

After Liverpool decided to replace manager Arne Slot with Andoni Iraola in the summer, the Merseysiders are starting to look strong once again.

The 20-time league champions are fourth in the Premier League and third in the league phase of the Champions League under Spaniard Iraola.

And Wirtz has caught the eye in recent weeks, scoring in the win over Villarreal while recording assists in the victories over Brentford and LASK.

Liverpool are looking to make it five wins in a row when they entertain Alonso’s Chelsea tonight, having also got the better of high-flying Brighton at the weekend.

The Blues, on the other hand, are looking to bounce back from last Saturday’s loss to Tottenham Hotspur by reaching the quarter-finals of the League Cup.