Chelsea host Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in a crunch clash in the race for European qualification.
Victory would see Chelsea climb to ninth if Aston Villa lose elsewhere, whilst Liverpool can go sixth with a win if Brighton fail to win elsewhere.
Team News
Wesley Fofana and Raheem Sterling could return for Chelsea after recovering from hamstring injuries, although the pair weren’t risked in Saturday’s defeat to Aston Villa.
Edouard Mendy (finger) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (back) are doubts but Cesar Azpilicueta (concussion), Thiago Silva and Armando Broja (both knee) remain absent.
Liverpool have no fresh injury concerns to report following their 4-1 loss at Manchester City on Saturday, as Thiago Alcantara (hip) once again looks unlikely to feature.
Naby Keita (muscle), Luis Diaz (knee), Calvin Ramsay (knee) and Stefan Bajcetic (adductor) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Chelsea host Liverpool at 8pm BST on Tuesday 4 April at Stamford Bridge, London, live on Sky Sports in UK.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea are unbeaten in their last four league meetings against Liverpool (W1, D3).
- Liverpool have avoided defeat in four of their last five league visits to Chelsea (W2, D2, L1).
- Jurgen Klopp’s Reds have scored two goals in each of their last three visits to Chelsea (W2, D1).
- No player has been caught offside on more occasions this season than Chelsea’s Kai Havertz, who has been offside on 25 occasions in 27 league appearances.
- Liverpool are looking to avoid suffering three consecutive league defeats for the first time since a four-match streak in February 2021.
Prediction
Although it is a surprise that Chelsea have sacked Graham Potter given all the talk of long-term strategy, they had to do something because the players lacked much quality in Saturday’s defeat to Villa with lacklustre intensity and end product to their play on top of sloppy basic defending.
Liverpool meanwhile did well to match Man City in the first half but were defensively outclassed with quick attacks and poor marking, although Alisson deserves credit for his goalkeeping otherwise the defeat could of been more brutal than just four goals after having briefly led.
Both teams though know that their top-four chances are super slim so a win for either team is vital, especially because a draw won’t do much for their prospects which might suit Chelsea because if they can’t get top four then why not try and dent Liverpool by limiting them to a draw here.
Chelsea though need to raise their game now Potter is gone and start showing their genuine top talent, otherwise I fancy Liverpool to win this given their better goalscoring form and confidence compared to the Blues.
Prediction: Chelsea 0-2 Liverpool
Result: Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool
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