Chelsea vs Liverpool. Who will win?

Two English powerhouses struggling to find form this season will hope for a turn of luck when they lock horns at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.

Liverpool were humiliated 3-0 at the Amex Stadium by a brilliant Brighton side in their last Premier League outing. But they still have the same amount of points as their Saturday rivals Chelsea, who beat Crystal Palace 1-0, despite playing a game less.

Jürgen Klopp’s side has 28 points to their name in 18 matches and a win against the Blues would see them climb to sixth on the table.

Chelsea would also become sixth momentarily if they can claim the full three points against the mighty Reds.

With two back-to-back away defeats against Brentford and Brighton, Liverpool are still looking for their first victory in the Premier League since the turn of the year.

Despite those back-to-back defeats, Liverpool can take solace in the fact this Saturday’s game takes place on home soil.

They’ve only lost one of their last 32 Premier League matches at Anfield, finding the back of the net in each of them, scoring 79 goals at an average of 2.5 per game.

However, the home team has won just three of the last 17 Premier League games versus Chelsea (seven draws and seven losses), though two of those did come at Anfield in 2019 and 2020.

And with six defeats already in the Premier League this season (also losing to Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Arsenal, Man United), Liverpool are fast approaching Klopp’s previous highs of nine (2020-2021) and eight defeats (2015-2016) across a campaign.

Liverpool’s midfield woes have been at the root of their struggles this season. But they still managed to hold on to their impressive home record.

Liverpool have a long list of notable absentees, including Virgil van Dijk, Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota, Luis Díaz, and Arthur.

Darwin Núñez is expected to return, so Cody Gakpo will move to a wider attacking position.

Chelsea arrested their three-match winless run in the league with a hard fought victory over Crystal Palace.

The Eagles went toe to toe with the Londoners at Stamford Bridge. But a Kai Havertz goal right after the hour mark made the difference in the end.

It was Chelsea’s second Premier League victory in 10 matches, both of which came on home turf.

They have been winless on the road since October. So, Graham Potter’s side are not favourites for a win at Anfield, but they can ill afford dropping more points as they drift further and further away from European spots.

Chelsea’s new marquee signing Mykhailo Mudryk might make his debut against Liverpool. Kai Havert might not be involved as he missed training for unknown reasons.

This could be a big miss as Havertz has already proved that he enjoys a game at Anfield, having scored in this exact fixture last season. Incidentally, the last Chelsea player to score in consecutive away league games against Liverpool was Joe Cole way back in 2005.

The German could be the latest addition to Chelsea’s growing list of injury absentees alongside Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, Reece James, N’Golo Kanté, Denis Zakaria, and Édouard Mendy.

Our Prediction

None of these teams are at their best, at the moment.

But, Liverpool’s impressive home record makes them the obvious favourites. We are expecting a 1-0 win for Liverpool.

Kick-Off: January 21, 6 PM (IST)

 Venue: Anfield