Liverpool have become a real Jekyll and Hyde team this season. At Anfield they are able to keep clean sheets, but take a trip away from the city of Liverpool and the floodgates begin to open. They must be at their best if wanting to get a positive result against third placed Chelsea.
The problems that Liverpool have were shown to their full in the midweek Champions League game against Sevilla. At half-time they were 3-0 up and cruising but then eventually found themselves hanging on for a 3-3 draw. January is going to be a busy time looking for defenders but it’s a problem that Liverpool have had for a fair while now.
At home, only Burnley have scored against them in six Premier League fixtures, four of which have been won and the other two drawn. Away from home they have conceded 16 goals in the Premier League, more than any other team. Thankfully this game against Chelsea is at home but they face a side that will pose a lot more threat than the likes of Crystal Palace, Huddersfield Town and Southampton. That being said, Arsenal and Manchester United have failed to score at Anfield this season.
Liverpool start the weekend in fifth place, three points behind their opponents and a big win would take them above their opponents. A title challenge looks out of the question unless Manchester City suffer a massive slump in form. That means the rest of Liverpool’s season will be spent trying to get a top four finish and progress in the Champions League and FA Cup.
The Reds do have the firepower to win this game and it’ll upset a fair few Chelsea fans if their former player Mohamed Salah continues his fantastic form this weekend. Firmino scored twice against Sevilla so if he can continue that form then this could be a high-scoring game, just down to their dodgy defence to perform really.
Chelsea are third in the table but nine points behind Manchester City and with a goal difference that is 20 less than the league leaders, it might as well be ten. Add on the fact that Chelsea still have to travel to both Manchester clubs and their grip on the title they won last season is becoming rather loose.
They have been a bit inconsistent this season with three notable disasters against Burnley, Crystal Palace and Roma. Whereas Liverpool played away from home in Europe on Tuesday, Chelsea’s Champions League game against Qarabag was the day after followed by a long trip home from Azerbaijan and that could be a factor in this match.
Chelsea’s away form in the Premier League has been impressive with five wins so far and fans still can’t work out how they managed to lose to Crystal Palace. The return to form of Eden Hazard is a key factor for them. He’s scored in two of the last three Premier League games and is contributing some valuable assists too. The same applies to Alvaro Morata and both will present the Liverpool defence with some headaches this weekend.
Conclusion
Recent games between these two sides at Anfield have produced 1-1 draws and a score-draw looks the most likely result this weekend. Liverpool are in good form at home, but those defensive worries may well play a part this weekend. Chelsea have the midweek travel to recover from but will present Liverpool with many problems this weekend and can’t go to Anfield and park the bus like some teams as they can’t afford to drop even further behind Manchester City.
The Key Stats
Last Five Premier League Results – Most recent first
Liverpool – WWWLD
Chelsea – WWWWL
Head to Head – Last Five League Meetings
31/01/17 – Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1
16/09/16 – Chelsea 1 Liverpool 2
11/05/16 – Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1
31/10/15 – Chelsea 1 Liverpool 3
10/05/15 – Chelsea 1 Liverpool 1
- 11 of the last 12 Premier League games between these two sides have seen both teams score.
- Liverpool have only lost one of their last seven league and cup games against Chelsea.
- Only Burnley have scored an away Premier League away goal at Liverpool this season.
- Liverpool are unbeaten in nine home league and cup games this season.
- Chelsea have won their last four league games since that loss to Crystal Palace.
- Chelsea have only lost one of their last eight away Premier League games.
- Chelsea have scored in 14 of their last 15 away Premier League matches.
Liverpool have scored in 30 of their last 33 home Premier League