Stamford Bridge is the venue as second-placed Chelsea and third-placed Liverpool go head-to-head in a blockbuster Premier League fixture. With pacesetters Manchester City coming from behind to beat Arsenal 2-1 on Saturday, this encounter could prove decisive for both sides’ title ambitions.
The Citizens faithful will wait for the outcome of this mouth-watering contest with bated breath, as Pep Guardiola’s team could be waltzing away with the Premier League title already in January. The defending English champions hold a staggering 11-point lead over Chelsea, who can ill-afford a slip-up here if they are to keep pace with Man City.
The same goes for Liverpool. Despite trailing the Etihad outfit by 12 points, the Reds have two games in hand over Guardiola’s side, emphasizing the importance of this trip. Unfortunately for the traveling fans, Jurgen Klopp’s men seemed to have run out of steam down the final stretch of 2021.
Chelsea vs Liverpool Head-to-Head
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last two Premier League encounters against Liverpool (W1, D1) after losing four consecutive league matches against them between 2019 and 2020. That includes a hard-fought 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture at Anfield back in August, where they held the Reds goalless in the second half despite being a man down.
Against this backdrop, the Blues have lost their last two top-flight games against the Merseysiders after going unbeaten in two such contests beforehand (W1, D1). Since three of those four H2H featured under 2.5 overall goals, the Stamford Bridge support may be in for a cagey, low-scoring affair.
Another victory here would see Liverpool become only the second-ever side to win three consecutive Premier League fixtures at Stamford Bridge since Blackburn Rovers between 1993/94 and 1995/96. With the traveling team winning 41% of the last 27 match-ups between these two sides, the visitors have every reason to hope for a positive result in London.
Chelsea Form Preview
Though Juventus-linked Romelu Lukaku gave Chelsea a slender 1-0 half-time lead over Brighton & Hove Albion last time out, Danny Welbeck’s stoppage-time header salvaged a point for the Seagulls, inflicting a massive blow to the Londoners’ title pursuit. Thomas Tuchel’s men have now drawn three of their last four Premier League matches (W1), throwing their hopes of landing their first league crown since 2016/17 into doubt.
The Blues may hope a return to Stamford Bridge, where they haven’t lost any of their last ten competitive games (W5, D5), could do the trick. However, that optimism will quickly dwindle when they reckon they’ve failed to keep a clean sheet four times in a row at home in all competitions. Chelsea’s inability to hit the ground running from the beginning of a new calendar year could add to those fears.
Since defeating Crystal Palace 3-0 in 2016, the reigning Champions League holders have failed to win their first league game in any of the last five calendar years (D3, L2). That alone could be enough to make Tuchel second guess his side’s chances of coming out on top here.
Liverpool Form Preview
Liverpool suffered an underwhelming 1-0 defeat at Leicester City in their final Premier League game of 2021, making it two league matches without winning (D1, L1). The Reds cannot afford another uninspiring result if they are to remain competitive in the title race, and a run of six top-flight wins between mid-November and late December should serve as an inspiration.
However, the Merseyside heavyweights have gone winless in all three Premier League matches against London sides in the nation’s capital this season (D2, L1). Klopp’s men have conceded eight goals during that three-game sequence, as many as they had in their previous 12 visits to London in the competition.
There are more ominous signs for Liverpool here. Since beating Manchester United in 2009, they have failed to win any of their last six competitive clashes against reigning Champions League/Europa League holders (D3, L3), with each of those three draws coming against non-other than Chelsea.
Chelsea vs Liverpool Predicted Line-ups
Chelsea (3-5-2): Edouard Mendy; Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah; Marcos Alonso, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic; Mason Mount, Romelu Lukaku.
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson Becker; Kostas Tsimikas, Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Trent Alexander-Arnold; Thiago Alcantara, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson; Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah.