Jeff Stelling predicts Liverpool will do something nobody else has managed v Chelsea this season

History suggests it’ll be a close contest

Liverpool’s 4-1 thrashing of Chelsea in their last Anfield meeting in January was a distinct outlier among recent clashes between the duo. Incredibly, that’s the only one of their last nine head-to-heads in all competitions where the teams weren’t level after 90 minutes (Transfermarkt).

As Stelling pointed out, the previous five league fixtures between the duo were all drawn before that one-sided affair in L4 nine months ago, and the fine form of both teams coming to this weekend’s match suggests that there won’t be much (if anything) to choose between them.

While the Sunday 4:30 kick-off is helpful in terms of recovery after an international break, the flip side is that both Manchester City and Arsenal will have played before then and may have leapfrogged us in the table by the time we get underway at Anfield.

Liverpool being at home also brings an extra pressure to win, particularly having already dropped points on Merseyside this season in a shock defeat to Nottingham Forest last month.

One significant factor which could play into our hands, though, is that Chelsea will be without two of their regular back four in Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella due to suspension, and the Reds have the potency in attack to capitalise on any lack of chemistry in the Blues’ defence.

We’ll go with a hard-earned 2-1 home win to keep Slot’s men top of the table by the end of Sunday!