Chelsea vs Liverpool: Line-ups
Chelsea
Liverpool
Expect Goals to Flow
#1
Chelsea enjoyed an unbeaten pre-season and came away from their tour of the USA as champions of the inaugural Premier League Summer Series after accumulating seven points from three games against Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United and Fulham to top the six-team table. The Blues then rescued a 1-1 draw in their final warm-up match last week as youngster Mason Burstow netted an 89th-minute equaliser against Borussia Dortmund.
#2
Pochettino, who has only won three of his previous 16 meetings with Liverpool as a manager, is now preparing for a baptism of fire in his first competitive match as Chelsea boss against a Reds side who have drawn each of their last six meetings with the Blues, with each of the last four ending goalless including both Premier League encounters last season – no fixture in English football history has ever finished goalless five times in a row.
#3
After taking their hunt for an unprecedented quadruple all the way to the wire in 2021-22, the Reds were unable to mount a serious challenge for any major silverware last season, instead watching their recent foes Manchester City win a historic treble and rivals Manchester United lift the EFL Cup.
#4
Liverpool’s decision to not bolster their squad with new midfielders last season ultimately came back to haunt them, but Klopp has since overseen a significant midfield refresh at Anfield this summer. As many as seven midfielders have departed to date including captain Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, while Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister are two exciting additions, and Moises Caicedo could be another, although the Ecuadorian is said to prefer a move to Chelsea over a switch to Anfield.
#5
Liverpool have had few problems making a strong start to life in the Premier League, though, as they have not lost a top-flight opener in any of the last 10 seasons – winning eight and drawing two – and a victory at Stamford Bridge on Sunday would end their seven-game winless run against Chelsea.
DPP Verdict
Both Chelsea and Liverpool have cancelled each other out in low-scoring affairs in recent years, and few would be surprised to see the spoils shared once again at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Nevertheless, an entertaining contest should be in store and there could be a greater level of goalmouth action this time around as the defences of both sides have been far from watertight in pre-season.
