Chelsea vs Liverpool preview – First big game of the season
It’s still early days in the 2020/21 Premier League season with the Matchday 2’s fixtures yet to be executed, but we have a cracker on our hands already as Chelsea will welcome defending Champions Liverpool to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
I’m sure a good number of football fans can still recollect how the last Premier League game between these two sides panned out although it was at Anfield. A whopping eight goals were scored the last time they met with the Reds emerging victoriously with a 5:3 win in an enthralling game.
Regardless, both sides will face each other coming off the back of garnering maximum points in their opening game of the season.
Liverpool had to rely on an 88th-minute penalty converted by hat-trick hero Mohammed Salah to beat newly-promoted Leeds United 4:3 at Anfield whilst the Blues beat Brighton & Hove Albion 3:1 at the Amex on Monday night.
The key fact is that both sides were not majorly convincing in their victories on matchday 1 and it remains to be seen how they’ll turn up against each other. Liverpool will be looking to send a message to title rivals that they are out to defend their title.
Chelsea, on the other hand, will be looking to make a case as to why they should be considered as title contenders this season after the spending they’ve done so far this summer.
Chelsea have not beaten Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League since 2018, with the last Premier League game between the two sides at Stamford Bridge ending in a 2:1 win for Jurgen Klopp’s men and this makes then favorites to garner all three points in this one.
The last 5 Premier League games between the two sides have ended in 3 wins for Liverpool, 1 win for Chelsea, and 1 draw between the two sides.
Therefore, this will be an uphill task for the Blues under Frank Lampard especially with new players yet to gel, coming up against a Liverpool side with all key players from last season still available.
Ahead of the game, Frank Lampard is faced with some injury concerns as new signing Hakim Ziyech is still out with a knee injury alongside Christian Pulisic who suffered another setback after returning to training although he could recover in time for this one.
It remains to be seen if the likes of Thiago Silva and Ben Chilwell will feature for the Blues although they’ve received a boost with the return of Mateo Kovacic who has returned from his three-game suspension.
The likes of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz will likely start this game although it remains to be seen if the latter will be featured from the start or introduced in the course of the game after his average debut against Brighton.
LIVERPOOL TEAM NEWS
Meanwhile, for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool, the only long term absentee is Oxlade Chamberlain with the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri and Kostas Tsimikas already returning to training.
The German manager has a host of fit players to choose from in this game. The Reds are close to completing a deal for Thiago Alcantara and the possibility of him featuring in the game depends on how quick he signs for the Reds.
WHAT WE’LL WATCH OUT FOR
This should be an exciting game of soccer. For Chelsea, eyes will be on Kepa Arrizabalaga between the sticks to see how he fares after conceding a goal he should have kept out against Brighton.
Edouard Mendy’s move is close to completion according to reports and any howler by the Spaniard in this game could see him fall down the pecking order when the new goalie arrives.
Kai Havertz had a poor debut and eyes will be on his performance again to ascertain if the Brighton game was a one-off or if the German will need some time to adapt to the Premier League.
Mohammed Salah has started the season on a high and will be looking to add to his numbers. The Chelsea defense will have him and his forward counterparts to contend with and this will be a test to ascertain if the Blues have really improved defensively or not.
VERDICT
Jurgen Klopp has maintained his side from last season as a cohesive unit. Therefore, I tip them as favorites for all three points in this one regardless of the venue. See list of websites where you can watch the game live.
