Liverpool vs Chelsea tips and predictions: Resilient Blues to frustrate hosts in low-scoring affair
- George Dempsey
- 30 January 2024
Anfield will be expecting a win when Liverpool host Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday night but we don’t think it will be that simple.
If it wasn’t for two red cards and an unfortunate own goal, we could be talking about a Liverpool side that’s unbeaten in nearly a full season of Premier League outings.
Their heartbreaking loss at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium remains their only defeat in 32 league games.
Their recent form has been particularly strong as they’ve started keeping clean sheets with regularity.
Chelsea are still a work in progress under Mauricio Pochettino but goals are flowing like they haven’t for several years.
The Blues are still hit-and-miss on their travels but they have registered 16 goals in eight away from home.
Liverpool have gone one better by scoring 20 in their last eight home matches and although they’re tightening up, they’ve still conceded in 13 of 20.
Still, we probably shouldn’t get too excited about the prospect of goals. Before a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge in August 2023, these teams had played out four consecutive 0-0 draws.
On top of that, the form book seems to go out of the window when these two meet. The previous seven meetings have finished all square.
We saw a similarly resolute performance from the Blues on at the weekend as they kept a dangerous Aston Villa side at arm's length in a 0-0 draw.
An underperforming Man Utd side was able to hold out for a 0-0 draw at Anfield not so long ago so with the right game plan, it’s not beyond the visitors to pinch something.
Key stats
- Liverpool and Chelsea have drawn the last seven meetings
- There have been under 2.5 goals in seven of eight meetings
- There have been under 3.5 goals in nine of 14 Premier League games at Anfield
Team news
Joel Matip, Stefan Bajcetic, Thiago Alcantara, Mohamed Salah, Konstantinos Tsimikas and Wataru Endo are unavailable for Liverpool.
Alexis Mac Allister is likely to return and could start in midfield.
Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Romeo Lavia, Robert Sanchez, Lesley Ugochukwu and Nicolas Jackson are ruled out.
Malo Gusto and Christopher Nkunku could return but Trevoh Chalobah is less likely to feature.
