Liverpool vs Chelsea

Anfield forms the backdrop for a mouth-watering encounter between downtrodden Premier League stalwarts Liverpool and Chelsea.

Liverpool returned to winning ways in midweek FA Cup action, courtesy of a narrow 1-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers, and will hope to translate that defensive resilience to the Premier League. The ‘Reds’ have opened the new calendar year with back-to-back league losses for the first time since 1993, undoing the impressive work of tallying four wins down the final stretch of 2022. Jurgen Klopp’s men have conceded precisely three goals across those two defeats and could ship 3+ goals in three league matches on the trot for the first time in 70 years. Without talismanic center-back Virgil van Dijk, Klopp’s hopes of painting his 1,000th game as a manager with flying colors look a bit blunt.

Adding to this sentiment, Liverpool haven’t won any of their last five competitive meetings with Chelsea (D4, L1 – 90mins only). On top of that, the home team has won just three of the 17 previous Premier League duels between Liverpool and Chelsea (D7, L7), emphasizing the size of the task at hand. However, Chelsea’s underwhelming run of five winless away league games (D2, L3) could throw Liverpool’s bid to get back to winning ways a lifeline, with Graham Potter’s men last experiencing a longer winless streak on the road in 2015/16 (7). Additionally, the ‘Pensioners’ have picked up just two victories across their previous ten Premier League outings (D3, L5), including a narrow 1-0 home triumph over bottom-half Crystal Palace last time out.