Tag: Liverpool

Chelsea picked up a decent victory at Anfield in midweek, but can they follow that up with a home win against the Reds? Liverpool lost for the first time this season in that EFL Cup encounter, which saw an impressive comeback from Maurizio Sarri’s men. Once again Eden Hazard was the star of the show, and there’s going to be expectations on him in this weekend’s biggest Premier League clash.

As predicted, the first meeting between Sarri and Klopp was an incredible clash of styles. The passing play by Chelsea dominated possession, but Liverpool’s dynamic attacking play helped them create chances without seeing too much of the ball. We’re expecting more of the same on Saturday, when the two managers are likely to return to their first choice sides as two of the top three in the top flight meet.

Team News: Can Sarri Keep the Ball Rolling?

Sarri’s approach to team selection is starting to become clearer, as he handed out opportunities in the visit to Anfield. The Blues kept just three of their first choice 11 in their side for the clash with Liverpool. Alvaro Morata got another opportunity up front, while Cesc Fabregas played in the Jorginho position, running the midfield. We expect things to return to normal this weekend, with Sarri quickly settling on a clear preferred line-up. We don’t expect him to make any major switches from that team ahead of his biggest test so far.

Like Sarri, Klopp made his fair share of changes for the cup game in midweek. Daniel Sturridge started, and scored, against his former club. However, he should drop back down to the bench here. Simon Mignolet started in goal, while he switched up their defence and midfield. Again, Liverpool will expect to switch back to their first choice side for this trip. Klopp doesn’t tend to change personnel for big clashes like this, so we expect him to try his usual approach.

Liverpool Form

The Reds had won every game they’d played this season before their midweek loss. Of course, they won’t be too worried about the EFL Cup, given that they’re focusing on a European run and a Premier League title push. So far, they’ve kicked off well in both competitions. The Reds beat PSG in their opening European clash of the campaign, and last weekend brought their sixth win of the season in the league.

Liverpool are the only side to have a perfect record in the Premier League, following Chelsea’s draw at West Ham on Sunday. They currently sit two points clear, although they’re being chased by both Man City and Chelsea. The Reds are the team to beat so far this term, and Sarri’s side will be looking to do just that, and to put themselves in a great position in the early stages of the title race.

Chelsea v Liverpool Head to Head

It’s hard to look past the latest result when it comes to head to head between these two sides. Chelsea have struck a significant blow to their rivals right on the eve of this game, if only due to the proximity to the league clash, and the Blues will be out to build on that in Saturday’s clash. At Stamford Bridge the pair have traded wins over the last few years, with Antonio Conte’s Chelsea winning 1-0 in this fixture last term. However, Sarri will be taking a very different approach this time around, which he’ll hope will be enough to prevent the Reds walking away with another three points this weekend.

• Liverpool 1-2 Chelsea, Sept 2018
• Chelsea 1-0 Chelsea, May 2018
• Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea, Nov 2018
• Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea, Jan 2017
• Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool, Sept 2016

Betting Tips

• Chelsea Draw No Bet – Evens with Coral
• Eden Hazard to score – 15/8 with Betfred

Despite being the away side, Liverpool have been priced up as favourites here. The Reds may have lost in midweek, but the bookies are confident in their full strength side. You can back Liverpool at 7/5 with bet365 for the points, while the Blues sit out at 15/8 with BetVictor. Ladbrokes have the draw at priced at 5/2, so clearly we’re in for a close encounter. It does have a similar feel to Man City’s trip here last season. Pep Guardiola’s side got early plaudits, but they proved themselves with a win at Chelsea. That narrow 1-0 win wasn’t the most stylish of the season for City, but is was key. Will Liverpool’s title challenge receive a similar boost when they make the trip to London?

While Liverpool are favourites, it’s hard to look past the way Chelsea stepped up with Eden Hazard on the field. He was able to take the Blues up a notch in terms of quality, and that could be crucial once again here. While Liverpool are returning to their first choice side, they’ve got to find a way past a Chelsea team who have easily clicked with Sarri’s approach. With their first choice midfield three on the pitch, taking possession of the hosts won’t be easy. We think the improvement for the Blues is being underestimated here, so we’re backing a home win on the Draw No Bet market. Chelsea are still available at evens with Coral on that market, which combines value with a little bit of safety.

We see Hazard making another big impact on this game, given that he continued his strong form against Liverpool. He’s still the top scorer in the Premier League with five goals in six matches, and the way he’s stepped up of late makes him a real threat here. Liverpool have had clean sheets this term, but their defence remains suspect. They’re vulnerable at the back, and that’s something which Hazard can exploit. Despite his goal in midweek and a strong start, the Belgian is a huge 15/8 with Betfred to score any time in Saturday’s encounter. At that price, we have to get Hazard onside ahead of this clash.

Can Chelsea bring Liverpool back down to earth with a victory on Sunday? The Reds make the trip south with their minds drifting towards their meeting with Real Madrid in the Champions League final at the end of the month, which marks a huge step up for the Merseyside outfit. Jurgen Klopp is about to take charge of his biggest game as Liverpool boss, having guided them through against Roma with a 7-6 aggregate win. However, before all of that the Reds need to get their minds back on to the league, ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge.

The Blues know that three wins from three would see them finish the season level on points with Liverpool, although they’d be trailing in terms of goal difference. However, it would be impressive if they could cut the gap to the Reds, given the praise lavished on Klopp’s side, while Conte’s men are having a poor campaign all around. Can they muster the skill and invention required to finish on a high with a victory in the weekend’s biggest top flight clash?

Team News: Can Blues Inspire a Top Four Fightback?

Chelsea have no new injury concerns ahead of this clash, and they should set up with a side who can push Liverpool in this one. We expect a strong side from the hosts, who are missing David Luiz and Danny Drinkwater once again this weekend. The hosts should stick with their 3-4-3 set-up, which has helped them to four straight victories ahead of Liverpool’s visit this weekend. With so much on the line, we can’t see Conte making any big changes for the weekend clash, and yet again his only real decision is to settle between Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata. The Italian has also been handed a boost, with Marcos Alonso ready to return at left-back after serving his suspension.

Liverpool have a considerable injury list ahead of this trip, which could see as many as eight players ruled out. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip are all expected to miss out, while Adam Lallana and Emre Can should join them on the side-lines. While Klopp has been used to making changes in between European games of late, he could be forced into more shuffling of the pack when they visit Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Liverpool Form

The Reds are coming off a 4-2 loss in Rome, which was just enough to send them to Kyiv following their 5-2 win in the first leg. The visitors were lucky at times, and they certainly made life difficult for themselves with some poor defensive mistakes. They’ll be hoping to cut those out ahead of this clash, especially with an eye towards their showpiece clash in Ukraine. However, in the short term, Klopp’s side are coming in to Sunday’s game on the back of a Premier League clean sheet.

The Reds were held to a 0-0 at home to second bottom Stoke last weekend, as they continued their struggles throughout April. They’ve won just one match in the league this month, as they’ve struggled to split attention between two competitions. That’s probably in part due to their issues at the back on their travels, as 73% of the goals they’ve conceded in the league have come on the road so far this season.

Chelsea v Liverpool Head to Head

The Blues have really been struggling against Liverpool of late, with their last home win coming over three years ago. They’ve been waiting since 2013 to claim a Premier League victory against the Reds here, when Samuel Eto’o scored the winner. Meanwhile, the Reds are unbeaten in six meetings, having won both of their visits here under Klopp’s stewardship.

• Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea, Nov 2017
• Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea, Jan 2017
• Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool, Sept 2016
• Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea, May 2016
• Chelsea 1-3 Liverpool, Oct 2015

Betting Tips

• Draw – 13/5 with Betfred
• 2-2 Draw – 12/1 with Bet365

Chelsea come into this clash priced at 5/4 with BetVictor for the victory, despite Liverpool’s European heroics. The visitors can be found at 11/5 with Coral to claim the three points, while the bookies are clearly expecting some entertainment from this one. You can back both teams to score at 6/10 with Ladbrokes, which could prove an interesting option to many who see this one producing goals. Will this clash live up to expectations this weekend, or will the Reds come here looking to shut down the hosts and scrape a point? That’s hardly been Klopp’s style so far, and we don’t expect him to start now.

The visitors don’t really have it in them to play for a clean sheet, but they’d certainly take a point from this game if offered before kick off. A draw is all they need to secure their place in the top four, so it’s not the worst result, especially just days after returning from a tough away trip in Europe. The visitors are bound to be riding high, and refocusing on this one is likely to be a challenge, so getting their domestic campaign back on track could be key. The visitors have drawn three of their last four in the league, while the Blues have won just one of their home meetings with the top seven, so we’re backing a draw at 13/5 with Betfred.

We can see quite a high scoring clash in this one, given that the visitors have conceded quite a few goals on their travels this term. However, in 18 away trips in the top flight Liverpool have scored at least twice in two-thirds of those, so they are certainly capable going forward. Half of the Reds’ trips have seen over 3.5 goals scored in total, and we think there’s value in backing a 2-2 correct score in Sunday’s match, which looks like a temping option at 12/1 with Bet365.

Chelsea head to Anfield on Saturday with three points very much on the agenda. There’s an intriguing top four battle emerging in the Premier League, and a win over Liverpool would lift the Blues above that and more towards a possible tilt at the title itself. They’ll have ambitions of being part of a top three with the Manchester clubs, rather than having to contend with the sides chasing fourth. A few impressive Premier League victories has seen expectations at Stamford Bridge raise, but can they continue to make life difficult for Liverpool at Anfield?

Antonio Conte is facing the only Premier League side that he’s failed to beat since arriving at the club last summer. The Blues won 30 of their 38 games on the way to the Premier League title, but they took just one point from a possible six against Liverpool last season. That was partly down to the similarities between the pair, as they were both looking to make the top four in a season without continental football. Now they’ve both made the jump to the Champions League, it will be interesting to see which team is best equipped to stay there.

Team News: Conte’s 3-5-2 is here to stay

Chelsea come into this game with only Michy Batshuayi on the injury list, which is a big boost for Antonio Conte. He has made a slight tweak to the system this season, using a 3-5-2 set-up for big games. That was always likely to be wheeled out at Anfield, but the system seems to be one that Conte is sticking with. He used it at West Brom last weekend, to great effect.

Post-match Conte talked up the understanding of the two strikers – Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard. Those two played really well together at the Hawthorns, and that could signal a change in thinking from the Blues boss for the remainder of the season. A switch to a three-man defence worked wonders last season, Conte must hope a change to a three-man central midfield can do the same.

Liverpool have few injury worries going into this one, with Nathaniel Clyne their main absentee here. We’re unlikely to see any huge changes to the way they play – which tends to be a in a 4-3-3 set-up. Mohamed Salah is set to be one of the wide-men in that system, as he faces off against his former side. It will be interesting to see how the pace and pressing of that front three lines up against Chelsea’s three man defence, but they have N’Golo Kante in front to help alleviate the pressure at least.

Liverpool Form

The Reds are in impressive form in recent weeks, having strung together a three game winning streak in the league. However, those wins did come against Southampton, West Ham and Huddersfield. They struggled in slightly bigger games before that, losing at Tottenham, drawing with Manchester United and Newcastle. Their biggest Champions League home game saw the Reds draw with Sevilla, so you can question their form in big games. While they rattled four goals past Arsenal, Jurgen Klopp’s men followed that up with a 5-0 loss to Manchester City soon after.

Liverpool do have one of the strongest home records in the league, which makes this a dangerous trip. They’ve conceded just one home goal in the league – and that was to the Premier League’s resident upset merchants Burnley. They are unbeaten in 11 home matches, dating back to April’s loss to Crystal Palace. Having taken 14 points at home, scoring 12 times in six games, Anfield has become something of a fortress for Liverpool, but can Chelsea end that run?

Liverpool v Chelsea Head to Head

Anfield has been a friendly ground for the Blues to visit in recent times. They’ve escaped without defeat in their previous six visits, with their last loss coming five years ago. However, that side was heavily rotated by Roberto Di Matteo, as he battled fixture congestion to guide the side to the Champions League and the FA Cup. It’s over seven years since a full strength Blues side lost at Anfield, but can Klopp’s side end that run this weekend?

• Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea, Jan 2017
• Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool, Sept 2017
• Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea, May 2016
• Chelsea 1-3 Liverpool, Oct 2016
• Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool, May 2015

Betting Tips

• Eden Hazard to score any time – 7/4 with BetVictor
• 1-1 Draw – 6/1 with Coral

Chelsea come into this game as slight outsiders, as they’re priced at 21/10 with Betfred, while the draw is 5/2 with Ladbrokes. The Reds are 6/5 favourites with Bet365, which is understandable given their home form so far this season. However, it’s easy to also see why the home side are above evens, given that they’ve enjoyed a mixed record against the other top sides in recent encounters, with Manchester United taking a 0-0 draw back from Anfield last month.

Chelsea shouldn’t be as defensive as Jose Mourinho was that day, and they have the kind of mercurial talent behind the frontman that United wish they had. Eden Hazard looks great in his new role behind the frontman, and with Liverpool’s midfield not that defensively minded, we can see the Belgian slipping out of sight and finding some space. He’s scored five goals against Liverpool in his career, which is the highest number he’s scored against a Premier League side. We’re backing another strike from Hazard this week, and he’s priced at 7/4 with BetVictor to score any time.

While the Blues are unbeaten in their last six meetings with Liverpool at Anfield, four of those clashes have been draws. That includes the previous three meetings here, which have all finished 1-1. The draw has been the most popular result across the last eight encounters, landing in six of those clashes. We’re backing another 1-1 between these two here, which can be backed at 6/1 with Coral.

Chelsea return to Premier League action on Tuesday night, as they face title rivals Liverpool at Anfield. This is a huge clash for the league leaders, as they’ve been in awful form in matches against their rivals at the top. They lost at home to Liverpool earlier in the season, and they’ve suffered defeats away to Tottenham and Arsenal this term. Can they do any better when they take on the Reds this week?

Liverpool are in shaky form of late, so Conte will see this as a chance to knock them out of the title race. With 10 points separating these two ahead of this meeting, a win for the visitors would basically end Jurgen Klopp’s ambitions of leading his side to the Premier League crown. A 13 point gap at this stage, with the league so competitive, would be too much for them to claw back in final 15 matches of the season. Can the Blues deliver a major blow to one of their rivals for top spot? It’s going to be a pretty tall order.

Team News: Huge test for Conte’s new system

Chelsea have no injury concerns ahead of this game once again. Antonio Conte has a full squad to choose from, and he’s likely to restore his key men after rotating during the FA Cup. Expect another 3-4-3 formation, which is a set up they weren’t using in the first meeting at Stamford Bridge. That change has paid off, it led to that 13 game winning streak. With only one defeat under the new system since October, it’s clearly a huge part of the Blues’ push for the title. Expect that formation to feature again, as it might be able to cause Liverpool some problems.

The hosts come into this game with no major injury worries. Striker Danny Ings is their only notable absence, he’s set to miss the season. The former Burnley man isn’t exactly a regular starter. They are likely to have to go without Sadio Mane, with the forward away on African Nations Cup duty. Without his pace, the Liverpool frontline looks a little toothless. Can Klopp find a way around that on Tuesday night? He’s been trying a 4-3-3 with Daniel Sturridge, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho. While that’s a threatening front three, they’ll match up with the Blues’ back three. The Liverpool forwards are likely to struggle for space, given how defence-minded the four in front of the backline are.

Liverpool Form

Liverpool are currently on a terrible run, which has seen them struggle in the FA Cup and crash out of the EFL Cup. Their defeat here to Southampton made it back to back losses at Anfield, after former Chelsea coach Paul Clement led his Swansea side to victory here in the league. That 3-2 defeat to the worst defence in the top flight must have set alarm bells ringing for Jurgen Klopp, as that result saw them fall to fourth and drop even further off the pace in the fight for the Premier League title.

They are yet to record a league win in 2017, which hasn’t done their hopes of winning the league any favours. Klopp has seen his team score four times in their opening seven matches of the year, so their attacking swagger seems to have gone as well. There are quite a few issues for them to fix, especially as Klopp looks limited on options in his side. There’s no one he can really call on to step up to the first team and make a difference. At this stage of the season, squad depth is key. Liverpool just don’t seem to have enough in reserve.

Liverpool v Chelsea Head to Head

The Blues haven’t had the best record against Liverpool of late, losing twice to Klopp at Stamford Bridge since he took over in late 2015. They did pick up a draw at Anfield last year, and that was after leading for most of the game. Their last victory over the Reds was a 1-0 League Cup win, which came two years ago this month.

• Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool, Sep 2016
• Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea, May 2016
• Chelsea 1-3 Liverpool, Oct 2015
• Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool, May 2015
• Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool, Jan 2015

Betting Tips

• Under 2.5 goals – 19/20 with Bet365
• Chelsea to win draw no bet – 11/10 with Betfred

The bookies seem to be favouring the Reds here, as Liverpool are priced at 7/5 with Sky Bet to take the points. Meanwhile, you can get 2/1 with Betfair on a win for Chelsea. The draw is a 12/5 shot with BetVictor. A point wouldn’t be the worst result for the Blues, but it would allow others to cut into their lead. After a few games with no success over Klopp, Antonio Conte’s side should be aiming to leave here with all three points.

We expect Conte’s men to keep things tight if they can, and they have an excellent defensive record of late. Since switching to the 3-4-3, few sides have found a way past their defence. That’s likely to be true of Liverpool as well, given how they’re struggling to make an impact in front of goal. We’re expecting a low scoring game, which has been the case during most of the Reds’ matches this year. We’re backing under 2.5 goals in this one, which is priced at 10/11 with Coral.

We’re also backing a win for Chelsea, as they look like the best team in the division by quite some distance. While the others have clear issues, the Blues are a reliable unit who aren’t easily shaken. While the leaders are excellent value on the win market, we’re going with a slightly safer bet here. We’re backing the Blues draw no bet, which is priced at 11/10 with Betfred. Given how Liverpool are struggling for wins, that seems like a pretty safe option.