Liverpool and Chelsea will lock horns on Saturday, August 28, in the third round of Premier League, and for the first time since March 2021, when Chelsea edged out a 1-0 victory. Both sides have won their season openers and will look to extend their streak to three in a row and solidify their spot inside the top-five in the league standings.
Liverpool vs Chelsea
When: Saturday, August 28 – 17:30 CEST
Where: Anfield in Liverpool England
Weather: Sunny, 18°C
Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
Liverpool made easy work of Norwich (3-0) and Burnley (2-0) in their season openers, while Chelsea proved to be just as effective against Crystal Palace (3-0) and Arsenal (2-0), having also trashed Weymouth (13-0) in a friendly match last Sunday.
Both sides are in great form, which only adds further excitement to the big match this weekend, as two English titans look to add three more points to their name ahead of Round 4 of play.
Chelsea Are Running Hot
Chelsea will enter this match as the visitor, and while fans are expected to be in Anfield, we have a hard time believing that will be enough to stop the in-form Blues. Chelsea enter this match without a single defeat since May when they lost to Aston Villa (1-2), yet even that result doesn’t mean much.
Blues at the time were getting ready for the UEFA Champions League finals against Manchester City – which they ended up winning 1-0. Although their title-winning run is now in the rear-view mirror, it surely helped Chelsea with their confidence as they look to end another season on a positive note.
And it’s not only their UEFA Champions League run that should make you excited about Chelsea. Since Thomas Tuchel joined the team, Chelsea improved significantly, and everything seems to have started to click.
What’s even more impressive is that Chelsea’s last season success came without a go-to striker. Now they have Romelu Lukaku, who is bound to improve the West London outfit’s weakest area of the field.
His presence has already been noticeable in Chelsea’s 2-0 victory against Arsenal. Although an impressive win, it would be fair to say that Chelsea could have won by an even bigger margin (22 goal attempts).
With how strong Chelsea look in the final third – Lukaku, Reece James, and Mason Mount – you can be sure that the Reds will have their hands full trying to keep the visitors at bay.
Liverpool Might Not Be Good Enough
Liverpool won against Norwich and Burnley, which is a solid achievement. However, we have to acknowledge that neither team is very good, so we wouldn’t overreact to their two wins.
Obviously, beating Chelsea will be a much more difficult task, and while Juergen Klopp’s men will enjoy the home ground advantage that hasn’t helped them much the last time they hosted Chelsea (0-1).
On a more positive note, Virgil Van Dijk is back from last seasons injury, which should make Liverpool’s backline more sturdy. However, will that be enough to stop Chelsea’s improved lineup remains to be seen.
Liverpool are 6-3-1 in their last 10 and are undefeated in their last six. Still, they only faced Bologna (2-0, 1-0), Ath Bilbao (1-1), Osasuna (3-1), Norwich (3-0), and Burnley (2-0). Against Chelsea, Liverpool are 3-2 across their last five meetings and 2-1-2 in their last five home head-to-head bouts.
Liverpool vs Chelsea Betting Pick
Tuchal doesn’t have a very good record against Klopp, which could make you doubt the Blues for this match; however, comparing the teams they have to that of Liverpool, it’s more than fair to say that Chelsea look far deadlier.
Beating Liverpool at Anfield is never easy, but neither is stopping Lukaku, who has scored 23 Serie A goals last term and looks more than ready to emulate that success in the Premier League as well.
Prediction: Chelsea +0.00 Asian Handicap – 2.08 at Betfair
