We may only be two matches into the new Premier League season, but already we have a game coming up at the weekend which could have a massive bearing on where the Premier League title goes at the end of the season.
Liverpool host Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday (5.30pm kick off UK Time) in what promises to be an exciting early season match up between two genuine title contenders and the two teams that finished third and fourth in the Premier League last season, with Chelsea also claiming the Champions League title for the second time in their history.
Last season, Mason Mount’s goal gave Chelsea the win at Anfield, revenge for the Blues after they lost at home to the Reds earlier on in the season. However, with Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip back at the heart of defence, Liverpool have won both their openers and sit at the top of the table with the exact same record as their visitors today.
Games between these big two teams always attract plenty of interest in the betting markets and of course, Saturday’s game, coming as it does before the first international break of the new season, will be no different.
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So what makes Saturday’s clash so appealing between the top two?
Let’s take a look at the game in a little more detail.
Chelsea ended a run lasting six years without a win in the Premier League at Anfield last season, when they landed a 1-0 win over the Reds thanks to Mason Mount’s goal back in March. That game came near the end of Liverpool’s nightmare home spell, where the Reds unbeaten record was smashed and they lost a large number of games in a row at Anfield.
The Reds have enjoyed the lion’s share of the success in recent times, winning five of the last seven between the two teams including a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge last season, as well as a 5-3 win at Anfield in the July of the year they won the Premier League title.
Both teams have a highly respected German manager, Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea. Both managers have won the Champions League with their club, while Klopp has also ended Liverpool’s long wait for a Premier League title with victory in the 2019/20 season.
In addition, both teams have made attempts to strengthen this coming season with Ibrahim Konate coming in at centre half for Liverpool, while Chelsea have snapped up Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan. Both signings addressing a position of need for both teams based on their performances last season.
Along with Manchester City and Manchester United, they are both strongly fancied to do well in the Premier League this season and it is going to be an interesting clash between the pair at Anfield on Sunday.
Last Ten Games – Liverpool 5 wins, Chelsea 4 wins, one drawn game.
Liverpool faced Chelsea at home in the Premier League, all games finished in a 1-1 draw.It is going to be interesting to see what Jurgen Klopp does for this game. While his front three, back line and goalkeeper look to be rock solid, he has chopped and changed things around in midfield for the first two games and at the moment, it is hard to see which players are the first choice in that key central area.
With Jordan Henderson now fit, Thiago Alcantara back from injury plus Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Naby Keita pushing hard, it is going to be interesting to see who Klopp picks for this game, although gut feeling suggests that he may go for experience with perhaps Elliott dropping to the bench for Thiago. Fabinho is still a doubt through injury.
Andy Robertson was back on the bench at the weekend, although his replacement Kostas Tsimikas has played superbly well in his absence, but Klopp may go back to the Scottish captain if he is fully fit for this game.
The signing of Romelu Lukaku has given Chelsea a real focal point in attack and Thomas
Tuchel will likely stick with his 3-4-2-1/5-4-1 formation for this game. As with Liverpool, the back four and goalkeeper look settled, and in truth, the midfield and attacking positions also look relatively settled for Chelsea.
I could maybe expect N’Golo Kante to come in for Kovacic in midfield and perhaps Thiago Silva for Christensen in defence, but otherwise Chelsea could well name a pretty similar team to the one that defeated Arsenal 2-0 last weekend.
With the likes of Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner likely to be on the bench alongside Callum Hudson-Odoi, this looks an exceptionally strong Chelsea squad.
This will be a close game, but I just feel with Van Dijk back, Liverpool have that swagger once again. Chelsea took advantage of a Liverpool side lacking confidence last season to earn their win but I think this time around it may be the Reds that earn a narrow victory.
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