Liverpool v Chelsea – Match Preview

Liverpool host Chelsea in the lunchtime kick-off on Saturday as they return to Premier League duties. Both teams will hope to build on their recent victories. Saturday will see Jürgen Klopp’s 1000th match as a manager.

Overview

This will be a battle of two underperforming teams that hope for a miracle come May. That miracle would be a spot in the Champions League, which seems to be too distant right now.

The old, fine version of Liverpool was visible in the third round replay of the FA Cup against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Jurgen Klopp’s side brought Pep Lijnders’s philosophy of “intensity is our identity” into effect, leaving Wolves surprised. Harvey Elliott’s screamer sealed victory and progress to the next round. Liverpool occupy ninth place and are 10 points adrift of four-placed Newcastle.

A victory built on battling qualities for Liverpool as they put a decent-sized building block down ahead of Chelsea on Saturday lunchtime. Into the fourth round of the FA Cup, but this was about much more than that.

The verdict from Molineux. https://t.co/GXiH4OKk4O

— Paul Gorst (@ptgorst) January 17, 2023

Meanwhile, Chelsea ended their dismal run of four winless games by beating Crystal Palace 1-0 on home soil. The atmosphere at Stamford Bridge is tense, with some fans calling for Graham Potter to step down. As it stands, the Blues sit tenth in the Premier League table. Any further slip-up would result in them move away from European spots.

Head to Head

The last five meetings between these two at Anfield have finished with one draw, two defeats and two wins for Liverpool. Chelsea have been an arduous opponent to play against, even before Roman Abramovich’s era. The threat mainly came from their marksmen. Over the past few years, they could boast having the likes of Didier Drogba, Diego Costa or Gianfranco Zola in their ranks.

The previous campaign saw four fixtures between both sides, with two of them being played in the League Cup final and the FA Cup final. Liverpool emerged victorious in the finals after beating Chelsea on penalties. However, in the other two Premier League clashes, they were held to a draw.

Team News

There’s no doubt that injuries have played a part in why Liverpool have underperformed significantly. Luis sDiaz (knee), Arthur Melo go(muscle), Diogo Jota (calf), RobertoFirmino (calf), van Dijk (hamstring) will spend this one on the sidelines. Nunez is a minor doubt. The marksman has missed Liverpool’s past two games and is nearing his return to the first team.

Chelsea are nursing a string of injuries to their first team squad. Broja (knee), Fofana (knee), Kante (hamstring), Mendy (fractured finger), Pulisic (knee), Sterling (hamstring), Zakaria (thigh) will all be unavailable for team selection.

Elsewhere, Reece James and Ben Chilwell were pictured by the club’s photographer on the traning grass on Wednesday. The former has not featured for a month due to a knee injury, while the latter has been out of action since early November after picking up a hamstring sad tee. However, the clash with Liverpool may come too soon for them and will likely miss this one.

Joao Felix picked up a red card in his Chelsea debut against Fulham and the forward will now serve the second of his three-match suspension. The new arrival, Mudryk could make his debiut for The Blues at some point of this game.

Summary

The bar has been set high for Graham Potter but the expectation seems to be far-fetched and unfair towards him. The announcement of new owners has brought chaos and dismay for everyone involved at Stamford Bridge, the transfer strategy is still unclear and needs improvement. At Brighton, Potter worked with a host of relatively young and average players, whom he either developed into household names or at least left his mark on their stepping up the game. In London, he deals with ready-made products, big names, big egos and abudance of injured players.

He’s been given little sympathy or understanding from Chelsea fanbase as they demand an immediate improvement of the game and doesn’t seem to be bothered about long-term vision. Potter’s presence in the hot seat is a subject for discussion. Personally, I’d be baffled if they were to terminate his contract.

Liverpool, on the other hand, have their very own woes. However, the positive result against Wolves in the FA Cup on Tuesday should present the Reds with confidence and boost. I can see them build on this momentum and get back to winning ways in the Premier League. Make no mistake, it will be a tricky and full of fight encounter, but I believe, with the help of the 12th man, all three points will be secured at Anfield.

Follow Karolina on Instagram: @96karolinakurek