Joel Matip Comments on Diego Costa Ahead of Chelsea vs. Liverpool

Liverpool defender Joel Matip has insisted he will not try to provoke Chelsea striker Diego Costa when the two sides face off in the Premier League on Friday and said he doesn't "give a f--k" if any Blues players try to get a rise from him. 

The Cameroon international also revealed he is planning to miss out on the Africa Cup of Nations in January in order to focus on settling in at Liverpool.

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Signed from Schalke by Reds manager Jurgen Klopp over the summer, centre-back Matip, 25, will face an in-form Costa at Stamford Bridge—he has scored four times in four games at the start of the new season.

The Spaniard remains as combative as ever and has a history of clashing with opposition defenders, but Matip said he will not engage with any Chelsea players who try to rile him, per Chris Bascombe in the Telegraph:

"

If an opponent tries to talk to me during the game, really, I don’t give a f--k. They can say what they want.

I don’t think anyone is like Costa. You can play against players who like to make you uncomfortable, but not too many with his size or as famous as him.

It is always a fight against these big teams and you have to take on the battle. You have to go in there and fight, there is nothing else. As a defender that is something you like—to go out there and win the ball.

But I don’t prepare only for Costa. I prepare for the whole team. Maybe he will be my direct adversary and I will study to see how he moves. I have seen a lot of his games. But you can never prepare for one player out of 11.

"

Matip has started two Premier League matches so far this season—against Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City—but likely faces his toughest challenge yet against unbeaten Chelsea.

He was brought in by Klopp to bolster a weak central defence, and he is clearly committed to nailing down a first-team spot as he plans not to turn out for his country at AFCON 2017, per Bascombe: "I would say at the moment I will be concentrating on Liverpool. It is a long time until January so you never know, but that is the idea."

Liverpool and Chelsea clashes have historically been fiery affairs. Costa and Reds captain Jordan Henderson were involved in "an angry tunnel bust-up" in January last year following a 1-1 draw between the two sides, per David Anderson in the Mirror.

Klopp's Liverpool got the better of Chelsea last season at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League, with Philippe Coutinho netting a double in a 3-1 victory, one of the German manager's earliest scalps as Reds boss. 

However, the Blues are a different proposition this term under manager Antonio Conte, and football writer Miguel Delaney is expecting an intense battle on Friday:

Liverpool will need to limit Costa and be tight at the back if they are going to claim all three points.

So far this season, they have been too easy to score against—conceding seven Premier League goals in four games and failing to keep a clean sheet.

Give Costa too much time and space and Liverpool will be punished, with the Reds likely returning to Anfield with nothing.

Matip has a huge role to play in preventing that from happening, and he seems up for the challenge.