Premier League leaders Liverpool lock horns with Chelsea at Anfield on Wednesday night less than a month before the two teams renew hostilities in the EFL Cup final at Wembley.
Mauricio Pochettino welcomed Jurgen Klopp's side to Stamford Bridge for his first home game in charge of the Blues back in August last year when the two teams played out an entertaining 1-1 draw.
Match preview
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Liverpool marked their first match since Jurgen Klopp's bombshell announcement to step down at the end of the season with an emphatic 5-2 home victory over Norwich City in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.
A ruthless Reds outfit capitalised on the Canaries' sloppy play out from the back, as Curtis Jones, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch all got their names on the scoresheet to help the eight-time FA Cup winners set up a favourable fifth-round home tie against either Watford or Southampton at the end of February.
Klopp's men have extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 10 games, while they have only lost one of their last 17 matches over the last two-and-a-half months, but their mettle is set to be tested in back-to-back home league fixtures against Chelsea and Arsenal in the space of five days.
Liverpool currently sit five points clear at the top of the table, but reigning champions Manchester City – who sit second and level on points with both Arsenal in third and Aston Villa in fourth – have a game in hand on the Reds.
Boasting a 22-game unbeaten league run at Anfield, Liverpool have every right to feel optimistic heading into Wednesday's clash, but success is not a given as there has been nothing to separate the Reds and Chelsea in recent years.
Indeed, each of the last seven meetings between the two clubs have ended as draws, including four 0-0 stalemates in 90 minutes – this run of consecutive draws is the longest between two top-flight teams in English football history.
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Three days after securing their spot in the EFL Cup final with a thumping 6-1 semi-final second-leg victory over Middlesbrough, Chelsea were forced to settle for a goalless home draw with Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round last Friday, with both teams consigned to an undesirable replay next week.
As has been a common theme at Chelsea this season, Mauricio Pochettino's side lacked a cutting edge in the final third and squandered a number of chances in front of goal, before an inspired display from goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic thwarted Aston Villa's late efforts to snatch a winner when the Blues ran out of steam in the final 20 minutes.
While Chelsea deserve the plaudits that come their way for putting together a 10-game unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge, there is little to be desired about their recent away form as they head to Liverpool having lost five of their last six games on the road in all competitions, conceding at least twice on five of those occasions.
However, the West Londoners have only lost two of their last 11 visits to Anfield, with those defeats coming in succession in April 2019 (2-0) and July 2020 (5-3), while they have also won a Premier League record 18 games against teams starting the day at the top of the table, which bodes well ahead of Wednesday's showdown.
Following a run of three consecutive top-flight wins, Chelsea have climbed to ninth in the table and have reason to be optimistic of success in midweek, as they endeavour to claim the three points that they need to leapfrog Manchester United and potentially Brighton & Hove Albion into the European places.
Team News
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Liverpool will have to cope without Mohamed Salah (muscle), Joel Matip (knee), Kostas Tsimikas (collarbone), Thiago Alcantara (hip) and Stefan Bajcetic (calf) due to injury, while Wataru Endo is still away with Japan at the Asian Cup.
Alexis Mac Allister missed the win over Norwich due to a minor injury, but Klopp is confident that the midfielder will be fit to return against Chelsea, while Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson and Dominik Szoboszlai all made substitute appearances last time out after recovering from injury, and the trio are in contention to play on Wednesday.
Luis Diaz will be pushing to start on the left flank after beginning as a substitute against Norwich, and Cody Gakpo could be the unfortunate one to make way as Klopp is expected to stick with in-form duo Jota and Nunez in attack.
As for Chelsea, Reece James, Lesley Ugochukwu (both hamstring), Wesley Fofana (ACL), Robert Sanchez (knee), Marc Cucurella (ankle), Romeo Lavia and Trevoh Chalobah (both thigh) all remain sidelined, while Nicolas Jackson is away with Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Christopher Nkunku (hip) and Malo Gusto (knock) have both taken part in training this week but remain doubtful, while Levi Colwill will also be assessed ahead of kickoff after pulling out of the starting lineup against Aston Villa with an unspecified issue picked up during the pre-match warm-up.
Left-back Ben Chilwell could be in a position to start his first Premier League game since September last year after recovering from a hamstring injury, while Pochettino must also decide whether to stick with Cole Palmer as a false nine or select Armando Broja up front.
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Jones, Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Jota, Nunez, Diaz
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Disasi, Silva, Badiashile, Chilwell; Caicedo, Fernandez; Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling; Broja
We say: Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea
Taking into account the aforementioned seven-game drawing streak between these two teams, another closely-fought contest could be on the cards on Wednesday, although Liverpool's impressive record at Anfield will likely give them the edge.
Chelsea can ill-afford another frustrating spell in front of goal if they are to come away with a positive result at Anfield, but even if they do manage to breach Liverpool's backline, we believe that Klopp's rampant Reds should find a way to outscore their West London counterparts en route to an important victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
