Chelsea vs Liverpool: BigMatchPreview

When: Chelsea V/S Liverpool, September 22nd, Sunday at 9:00pm IST

Where: Stamford Bridge, London

Match Referee: Michael Oliver

VAR: Andre Marriner

Quick Facts:

1. This will be the 61st time these two teams meet in the 21st century in all competitions, making it the most played fixture between English sides.
2. Liverpool are on a 22 game unbeaten streak in the league, which is their longest run since November 1990(23).

Head to Head: Played-54, Chelsea-20,Liverpool-20,Drawn-14

Last Five Encounters:

• LIVERPOOL 2 CHELSEA 0, APRIL 14TH 2019
• CHELSEA 1 LIVERPOOL 1, SEPTEMBER 29TH 2018
• CHELSEA 1 LIVERPOOL 0, MAY 6TH 2018
• LIVERPOOL 1 CHELSEA 1, 25TH NOVEMBER 2017
• LIVERPOOL 1 CHELSEA 1, 31ST JANUARY 2017

FORM GUIDE:

Who fares well in this fixture?

Sadio Mane has 3 goals in his 2 games against Chelsea in all competitions including a brace in the UEFA Super Cup a month back.

Team Preview: Chelsea

Table Position: 6

Recent Results: W D W D L (latest first)

The first 5 weeks of the season has summed up exactly how Chelsea are gonna be like this season. It will be an up and down campaign for the blues considering the fact that they’re undergoing a transitional period under new head coach, Frank Lampard. The blues followed up last week’s tremendous performance against Wolves with a rather lackluster display against Valencia midweek in the Champions League, a game in which Valencia score with their first effort on target and also saw Ross Barkley fluff his lines from 12 yards at the dying stages.

Defeat in the Champions League means that the blues are yet to win at home this season after 3 games in all competitions. The West-London outfit take on Liverpool this Sunday, knowing that a win would put them in the right direction in what could be defining season in the history of the club.

Chelsea’s biggest problem this season has been their defense, only Norwich(12) have conceded more goals than the 11 shipped by the blues. Alarming! Indeed that record may not last for long as Antonio Rudiger is back to fitness after having had some game time in the first half at Molineux last Saturday. On the other hand, only Manchester City(16) and Liverpool(15) have scored more goals than Chelsea(11).

Team News:

Kante, Emerson, Rudiger and Mount could all feature in the starting eleven on Sunday as Frank Lampard suggested that a final call would be taken at the eleventh hour. However, this game comes too early for Callum Hudson-Odoi, who recently signed a new 5-year deal at the club, and Reece James, who both featured in U-23s earlier this week. The duo are more likely to start in the Carabao cup 3rd round tie on Wednesday.

Team Preview: Liverpool

Table Position: 1

Recent results: W W W W W (latest first)

Liverpool have not hit top gear yet this season, but still they are sitting pretty at the top of the table, 5 points clear of the chasing pack or in simple words, Manchester City. The Reds are just one of two sides (the other being Inter) to boast a 100% record in Europe’s top five leagues. Whilst Liverpool’s front three have been in scintillating form, their defense has been a bit suspect to say the least. Jurgen Klopp’s men have just kept 1 clean sheet this season. Staggering!

The league leaders though come in to this trip to Stamford Bridge on the back of the rather disappointing performance in Naples in the Champions League. Notably, that game saw Virgil Van Dijk make a mistake which led to a goal. That nasty trip to Naples could mean that Liverpool could be just a tad more tired when compared to their counterparts, who played at home.

The Reds will be looking to make it 6 wins out of 6 on Sunday which would put them in a great position with more tough fixtures to come in the next month or so. They would have to do so by overcoming one of their best hoodoos in the premier league era. Chelsea have often been Liverpool’s nemesis, so to speak. Not least the infamous Gerrard slip, the FA cup final defeat and numerous other heartbreaks to go with it. Can the Reds conquer West-London? You wouldn’t bet against them from doing so!!

Team News:

There are no fresh injury concerns for Klopp. Naby Keita has returned to training, however, this game comes too soon for him. Likewise, it could be a tall order for Divock Origi, who is also not far away from being match-fit, to make the squad this week. Trent Alexander Arnold has started both the games so far this week, so Joe Gomez could get the nod over him on Sunday.

Did you know?

• Since beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 2016, Liverpool have only won one game against fellow top six sides away from home, which came at Wembley Stadium last season in September 2018.
• The average age of Chelsea’s goalscorers in the premier league this season is 21 years and 124 days, the youngest across the top five-leagues in Europe.
• Chelsea have beaten the team starting the day top of the league in the premier league era 18 times, which is at least 3 more than any other side in the competition.

Probable XIs

Chelsea (4-3-3)

Kepa Azpilicueta Rudiger Christensen Emerson Jorginho Kovacic Kante Mount Willian Abraham

Liverpool(4-3-3)

Adrian TAA Matip VVD Robertson Fabinho Winjaldum Henderson Salah Mane Firmino

Combined XI (4-2-3-1)

Kepa TAA Matip VVD Emerson Jorginho Kovacic Salah Mane Firmino Abraham

AllAboutFPL Verdict

Prediction: Chelsea 2 Liverpool 2

Liverpool come head in to the game as clear favorites, but Chelsea ‘s unpredictability can cause the Reds problems as already observed when these two teams met in the Super Cup. With both defenses being shaky and both attacks firing on all cylinders, this game could be filled with goals. It could turn out be a massive stepping stone for Chelsea’s youngsters if they come up trumps in this fixture!

Thanks for reading, do let us now your predictions as well for this blockbuster fixture!