Chelsea v Liverpool Match Result
Chelsea and Liverpool will both have Premier League title aspirations this season. However, the bookies think that the former are already out of the title race. The Blues are now out to 33/1 to become champions after successive defeats against Manchester United and Brighton. Ill discipline has cost them in both of these games and they’re now staring at a third consecutive defeat in the top flight.
Enzo Maresca steered Chelsea to a Champions League spot and a Europa Conference League success last time out. However, it’s far from easy for the Italian whose side are big outsiders to get the victory in this Saturday teatime encounter. There’s only a 33% chance that the London side will land a victory according to the bookmakers and they’re missing some key players.
Trevor Chalobah will be suspended and there’s no sign of Cole Palmer who has had a stop-start season thus far. There’s also Liam Delap who is sidelined and the team have failed to win in the Premier League since a somewhat fortunate victory over Fulham at the end of August. Since then, thirteen goals have been conceded in the space of five games.
Can Liverpool take advantage? The majority of their performances have not been convincing this term despite having five straight wins before that 2-1 defeat at Palace. Arne Slot has defensive problems and Ibrahima Konate was all at sea at Selhurst Park, with the Dutchman having a lack of central defensive cover. The full-back areas are also a problem and there are some definite teething problems in attack.
Alexander Isak will eventually become a source of goals but the forward is still finding his feet in a Liverpool shirt, with Hugo Ekitike back for selection. Florian Wirtz is yet to break his duck for the Reds and there’s the small matter of Mohamed Salah struggling to find top form right now.
Goals Under/Over
There are likely to be three goals or more scored at the Bridge according to the latest odds. The general price of 4/7 for Over 2.5 Goals indicates that there’s a roughly 65% chance of this happening. Liverpool have played nine games in all competitions at the time of writing and seven of these clashes have seen at least three goals being scored.
It's worth noting that the Reds’ previous three domestic games have all ended in a 2-1 scoreline, with the Merseyside derby being won by this scoreline before being on the wrong end of this defeat at Selhurst Park. Much depends on whether a Champions League trip to Galatasaray takes its toll and it’s not an ideal week of fixtures for the champions.
Perhaps Chelsea will look to play a deep defensive block in a bid to avoid Liverpool getting in behind and finding the space. Therefore, there’s no guarantee of a high-scoring game and a point on the road wouldn’t be a bad outcome for the visitors.
BTTS
It’s hardly a surprise that the BTTS Yes odds are shorter than Over 2.5 Goals. After all, Liverpool have already been involved in a spate of games where both sides have found the net. The only exceptions have been a 1-0 win at Burnley where the Clarets parked the bus at Turf Moor along with a 1-0 victory at home to Arsenal which was another cagey encounter.
We’ve seen Palace, Southampton, Everton and Atletico Madrid all find the net against Arne Slot’s side recently. Much as there are defensive issues, Liverpool have been able to score in every single game in all competitions. There are lots of potential scorers for the champions and perhaps this is the game where Mo Salah comes to the fore against his former club.
Last season, we saw BTTS Yes happen in both matches involving these teams. Liverpool enjoyed a 2-1 victory last October before suffering a 3-1 reverse at the Bridge as recently as May. It should be noted that in the latter game, the title was already in the bag and the foot had been taken off the gas. It’s likely that any sort of Liverpool victory is likely to include BTTS Yes and perhaps that combination will pay out.
First Goalscorer
The big debate is whether Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike or both of these players can slot into the Liverpool team. If they’re both to be accommodated within a starting line-up, then one would surely have to operate in a wider position. Both of these are viable options to break the deadlock, with Ekitike marginally more likely to start the game considering his fitness levels compared to a player who missed pre-season training.
Florian Wirtz is desperate to make his mark since a big money move from Bayer Leverkusen, with Cody Gakpo potentially coming back into the team here. Mohamed Salah is favourite to break the deadlock and it’s worth bearing in mind that Chelsea have had red cards in two consecutive Premier League encounters.
As for Chelsea, Joao Pedro has failed to make a mark in the previous two games although that’s completely excusable when you consider his team have been reduced to ten men on both occasions. The Brazilian started the campaign very well and could be on penalties, although Enzo Fernandez might instead stake a claim and the Argentine already has three on the board right now.