Liverpool hosts Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday for a Premier League match four days after the Reds blew a glorious opportunity in Champions League in Spain. Liverpool was leading Sevilla 3-0 at half-time on Tuesday only to allow the Spanish club to come back and equalized as the match ended in a stalemate of 3-3. Had Liverpool won the Champions League match in Spain, the Reds would've qualified for the knockout stages of the competition securing the top spot in their group with a game to spare.
Only three points separate Liverpool, and their Saturday's opponents and a win for the hosts could see the two teams tie in points at the end of the match.
The Reds go into the game at the backdrop of thumping Southampton 3-0 in last weekend' Premier League that took the Merseyside club to position five.
Chelsea travels out of London buoyed by the two massive results that the Londoners have achieved within just seven days. The Blues were victorious last weekend thumping West Bromwich Albion 4-0 at the Hawthorns in Premier League. Antonio Conte's men then replicated their weekend's form in their Champions League trip where his side subdued Qarabag FK 4-0.The Blues are currently placed third in the league standings and could climb to position two with a win in Liverpool if Manchester United fails to win their game.
Talking points
- Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah will be up against his former employer for the first time as Liverpool receives Chelsea. Mohamed Salah had an unsuccessful career at Chelsea and later played for two Serie A clubs before signing for Liverpool last summer.
- Even though Liverpool had a porous defense in the Champions League draw on Tuesday, the Reds have kept seven clean sheets in the last eight Premier League matches at Anfield.
- Chelsea is currently the second-best Premier League club on the road after Manchester City. The Blues have won seven out of the last eight Premier League they've played away from home.
- The games featuring Chelsea and Liverpool played at Anfield have not produced winners. In fact, the last three meetings between Liverpool and Chelsea in all competitions have ended in draws.
- The trip to Merseyside is the sixth game in a row in all competition that Chelsea is playing out of the capital city. The last match that the Blues played at Stamford Bridge was the 2-1 win over Everton in Premier League.
- Liverpool's last four Premier League matches have witnessed high scoring with each game realizing at least three goals. In fact, the Reds have scored at least three goals in their last three Premier League contests.
- Antonio Conte's men are unbeaten against Liverpool in the last six trips that they've made to Merseyside. The corresponding fixture in the previous season ended in a 1-1 draw.
- Five out of the last six Premier League games Chelsea has played away from home have realized at least a total of three goals on every occasion. The Blues's latest away victory was the 4-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorn last weekend.
Team news
Adam Bogdan and Nathaniel Clyne will once again play no role in the match due to injuries that have kept the duo out of most of Liverpool's previous matches.
Joel Matip is struggling to shake off the thigh injury that has sidelined him in Liverpool's last two games while Adam Lallan will miss the game due to unfitness.
Jurgen Klopp is expected to continue rotating Trent Alexander-Arnold with Joe Gomez in the right-back position with the later likely to start against the English champions.
Liverpool could do without their captain, Jordan Henderson who contributed significantly to the second-half goals that the Reds conceded in midweek at Sevilla. Emre Can, James Milner, and Georgino Wijnaldum are all available and will contest for starting position in the midfield.
Chelsea travels to Liverpool without Victor Moses, and Michy Batshuayi who are all injured but the Blues have a squad depth to handle their absence.
Antonio Conte is expected to include Gary Cahill, Andreas Christensen, Tiemoue Bakayoko, and Alvaro Morata who didn't start in midweek at Qarabag FK.
Predictions
It's one game that's tough to call given that the match features two top clubs in England who both have a proven goal-scoring record. The two teams are returning from other countries after playing their respective Champions League matches in midweek. Liverpool will mostly panic due to the three goals that they conceded in the second period after leading 3-0 at the break. The Blues have a slight edge given that Chelsea rested a few key players in anticipation of the trip to Merseyside. The game is likely to realize many goals with Alvaro Morata, Alberto Firmino, Eden Hazard, Mohamed Salah and Cesc Fabregas remaining the likely players to get on the score sheet.
Full-time prediction: Liverpool 2-4 Chelsea
