Liverpool vs Chelsea: Preview, Team News & Predictions
Liverpool and Chelsea renew hostilities at Anfield on Wednesday, January 31st in the first Premier League game since Jurgen Klopp’s resignation statement.
The Reds brandished a buoyant atmosphere in the FA Cup fixture against Norwich City, where Liverpool hit the Championship club for five goals. With just one loss from their 21 matches and three wins on the trot, an emotionally charged Liverpool outfit are presently five points clear at the top.
Klopp has won seven trophies in his tenure and has rallied his team to the EFL Cup final as well as the FA Cup fifth round. Additionally, they finished top of their Europa League group. Wins against immediate opponents Chelsea and subsequently, Arsenal next, could define their season and spell a telling statement to the chasing pack.
The Blues, on the other hand, were held by Aston Villa in their cup outing, extending their stretch of matches unbeaten at Stamford Bridge.
Irrespective of the chaos the club has sustained in the last few years, they always seem to level up against Liverpool. The same happened when the two teams last met, resulting in a 1-1 stalemate to begin the Mauricio Pochettino era at Chelsea.
Each of the last seven competitive games between the two PL powerhouses have ended on level terms. Can Liverpool stake their claim as serious title contenders, or will a resurgent Chelsea reestablish themselves in 2024?
Also read: Nottingham Forest v Arsenal: Preview, Team News & Predictions
Team News
Liverpool
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s substitute appearance at the FA Cup weekend hands the hosts a huge boost ahead of a tricky couple of fixtures. His partner, Andy Robertson, also came off the bench in Liverpool’s 5-2 thumping of Norwich but could be a game or two away from being a regular starter again.
Joel Matip is out for them, as is Mohamed Salah, whose Egypt side crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations. Endo is still away at the Asian Cup.
Dominik Szoboszlai assisted Virgin van Dijk’s wonderful header and is back in contention to start.
Chelsea
Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella, Trevoh Chalobah, Lesley Ugochukwu, Romeo Lavia and Reece James are a few notable absentees for Chelsea. Pochettino confirmed in a recent presser that Levi Colwill is injured and will sit as a result.
Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez is back on grass, however, the road back to the number one spot looks steeper with Djordje Petrovic having slotted in more than comfortably.
Nicolas Jackson’s link-up abilities and quick thinking have been somewhat of a missing puzzle piece while he is away at the AFCON, and with Armando Broja being far from his best, it looks like Cole Palmer could play false nine again.
Predicted XI
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez; Jones, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch; Diaz, Nunez, Jota
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Thiago Silva, Badiashile; Enzo, Caicedo; Madueke, Gallagher, Sterling; Palmer
Match Prediction
Liverpool are undefeated in 10 of their last 11 PL affairs with Chelsea, and it’s difficult to put this one past the most prolific attack in the league. As progressive as the Blues have been, they continue to miss big chances.
And with a clinical Diogo Jota fully fit alongside an in-form Darwin Nunez, Liverpool could edge this one out, provoking a riot of emotions once again from the charismatic Klopp on the touchline.
Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Tobias Barkskog. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.