Liverpool vs Chelsea – 21/01/2023
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Believe it not, ninth-place Liverpool and tenth-place Chelsea are locked on 28 points in the Premier League table as they prepare to meet at Anfield in Saturday’s early kick-off.
Of course, these two giants of English football are used to battling at the top end of the table. But as we head into Matchday 21, they find themselves miles off the pace.
Can Jurgen Klopp’s side close the between them and the top four? Or will Graham Potter’s men triumph on Merseyside? It’s time to take a closer look at the teams.
Let’s start with the hosts, Liverpool, who head into Saturday’s showdown on the back of a 1-0 win against Wolves in the FA Cup – despite fielding a weakened starting XI on Tuesday.
In the Premier League, however, the Reds have lost each of their last two games. After suffering a 3-1 defeat to Brentford, they were crushed 3-0 by Brighton last weekend.
It is worth noting that Liverpool have not drawn any of their past 11 Premier League encounters, registering six wins and five losses in the process.
Klopp’s men picked up two league victories either side of the World Cup break to notch a four-game winning streak. However, they will need to up their game against Chelsea.
As for the Blues, they ended a three-game winless run in the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Place last weekend – thanks to Kai Havertz’s second-half goal.
Chelsea had only managed to claim one win in nine league outings before beating Palace, so they will hope that last weekend’s victory can spark a revival.
That said, Potter’s side have only managed to win two of their previous nine matches across all competitions – recording one draw and six losses along the way.
It is also worth pointing out that Chelsea have lost five of their ten away games in the Premier League this season, failing to win any of their previous five.
Head-to-head: Across all competitions, each of the past four meetings between Liverpool and Chelsea have ended in a draw.
In the Premier League, the Blues have only managed to win one of the last eight meetings – with the Reds winning four of the previous seven.
Team news: Liverpool currently have Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Virgil van Dijk and Roberto Firmino out injured, although Darwin Nunez is in contention to return.
Chelsea’s lengthy injury list contains N’Golo Kante, Raheem Sterling, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, Armando Broja, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic and Edouard Mendy.
Joao Felix is suspended after picking up a red card last time out, so new signing Mykhailo Mudryk is in line to make his debut at Anfield.
There is no hiding the fact that both Liverpool and Chelsea are struggling at the moment, but the Reds will have a big advantage playing in front of their fans on Saturday.
For that reason, Forebet predicts that Liverpool will claim all three points – scoring over 1.5 goals while keeping a clean sheet.
