Time for the battle of two English struggling giants as Liverpool welcomes Chelsea at their home turf Anfield with an aim to inch closer to the Top 4.
Liverpool vs Chelsea: Preview
Jurgen Klopp got the reaction he wanted from Brighton & Hove Albion. When the Reds traveled to Wolverhampton Wanderers for their FA Cup third-round rematch on Tuesday.
A spectacular shot from Harvey Elliott earned Liverpool a 1-0 victory and a return trip to the Amex Stadium to play Brighton. As the Merseyside giants finally achieved their first victory of 2023 at the fourth try.
Liverpool suffered back-to-back league losses at the start of the calendar year for the first time since 1993. And a season without European play approaches lest the Reds make a stunning turnaround in the coming months. As they stand two points behind Brighton in the eighth.
A first clean sheet in seven games at Molineux was a sight to behold. As is Liverpool’s dominant home record in the Premier League. With the Reds having lost just one of their past 32 top-flight games at Anfield and scoring 23 goals. Only Manchester City have scored more in the league this season.
Klopp’s team has not failed to score in a home Premier League encounter since a 1-0 loss to Fulham in March 2021. And the German will take control of his 1,000th game as a manager this weekend. No likely hoping for a valuable three points to celebrate in style.
Speaking of illustrious teams eventually winning their first match of the season. Graham Potter’s Chelsea needed both Thiago Silva and Kepa Arrizabalaga to beat Crystal Palace 1-0.
At Stamford Bridge, new signing Mykhaylo Mudryk was introduced as Chelsea pipped Arsenal to the signing of the highly-rated Ukrainian forward – their fifth acquisition of a frenetic winter window.
Chelsea are just barely hanging on to their top-half status in the Premier League after avoiding a fourth game without a win.
Team News
No Arthur, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino, or Virgil van Dijk will be available for Liverpool just yet, but Klopp expects Darwin Nunez to recover from an unexplained injury in time to face the Blues.
With Nunez returning, Cody Gakpo could return to a wide role as Fabio Carvalho makes way, while Kostas Tsimikas had a blow to the back at Molineux but was always anticipated to give way to Andrew Robertson.
Alisson Becker, Joel Matip, Mohamed Salah, and Fabinho are also anticipated to return. With the latter replacing Stefan Bajcetic despite the 18-year-outstanding old’s showing in the FA Cup.
Predicted Line-up
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Konate, Robertson; Elliott, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo
What Anfield Home Predicts?
Liverpool’s defence had to resist wave after wave of pressure from Wolves in the FA Cup, but they held out brilliantly, demonstrating a notable improvement in their resilience, which will serve them well against a Chelsea team that is still fighting for success on the road.
With the roar of the Anfield fans behind them and the expected return of the annoyance that is Nunez. We believe Liverpool will continue their fantastic goalscoring streak at home and send Chelsea back to London with no points.
Our Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea
