Who will stay in front of Manchester City?
While the Citizens are stringing together one win after the next and are already eight points clear of their rivals in the table, Chelsea and Liverpool are battling for second place. The Blues are one point ahead, but have also played one game more. Accordingly, both of Europe’s top clubs need a win in their 190th meeting.
The momentum is more in favour of the Londoners, who have recently gone seven consecutive games unbeaten. However, ahead of the Chelsea-Liverpool clash, the bookmakers’ odds are swinging towards the visitors, perhaps due to the fact that the Reds have won four of their last six league games against the Blues.
However, since Thomas Tuchel took charge of the Blues, there have been four points out of a possible six against LFC in league action. Accordingly, it would be fatal to write off the Londoners prematurely, which makes it all the more difficult to tip on the outcome of the Chelsea vs Liverpool match.
We find much more value in betting on a maximum of two goals between two very defensively strong teams. After all, there have only been more goals in one of their last five meetings.
Chelsea – Statistics & current form
This time a year ago, Thomas Tuchel had just packed his bags at Paris Saint-Germain before taking over from icon Frank Lampard at Chelsea in January 2021. Not only did he lead the Blues to fourth place in the final table and punch their ticket to the top flight.
He even led the Pensioners to the final of the Champions League and won the title against, of all teams, English high-flyers Manchester City.
Unbeaten in seven competitive games
The Blues are also doing very well at the moment, ranking second in the Premier League after 20 league games and dancing on every other high. In the top flight, the Londoners drew by far the most grateful lot with OSC Lille as group runners-up. Meanwhile, Chelsea also reached the semi-finals of the EFL Cup.
Now it’s time to carry the recent momentum into the new year. The Pensioners have recently gone undefeated in seven consecutive competitive matches (three wins, four draws), but have dropped the treble in three of their last four league games.
The second best defence in the Premier League
The Tuchel eleven also failed to get beyond a 1-1 draw at home to Brighton during the week. The defence was once again very solid in this game, allowing only 14 goals in 20 league games. But offensively, there was once again a lack of penetrating power.
This is also due to Romelu Lukaku. The star striker, who returned from Milan this summer for 115 million and is currently willing to make a switch, has only scored five goals in the Premier League. His lack of goals will also determine whether Chelsea’s next point against Liverpool will be a winner for the Blues.
Predicted line-up of Chelsea:
Mendy – Rudiger – Christensen – Azpilicueta – Jorginho – Kovacic – James – Pulisic – Hudson-Odoi – Mount – Lukaku
Last matches played by Chelsea:
Premier League
12/29 2021 – Chelsea London 1 – 1 Brighton
12/26 2021 – Aston Villa 1 – 3 Chelsea London
Carabao Cup
12/22 2021 – Brentford 0 – 2 Chelsea London
Premier League
12/19 2021 – Wolverhampton 0 – 0 Chelsea London
12/16 2021 – Chelsea London 1 – 1 Everton
Liverpool – Statistics & current form
Liverpool experienced several highlights in recent years under Jürgen Klopp. Not only did the Reds secure the UEFA Champions League for the sixth time in the club’s history in the summer of 2019.
Just one year later, the Merseyside showpiece club became English champions for the first time in 30 years, celebrating their first title win in the Premier League, which was founded in 1992.
Only third after curious 1-0 defeat at Leicester
Last season, however, the Reds came away empty-handed.
The Reds failed to win the Communiy Shield, reached the quarter-finals of the top flight, failed to progress beyond the fourth round of the two English cup competitions and finished third in the league, 17 points behind Manchester City.
Accordingly, the Scousers had set their sights high for the new season, in which LFC had been top of the table for a week after the sixth matchday. However, another 0:1 defeat at Leicester City, when a missed penalty was compounded by numerous unused chances, has significantly diminished their chances of winning the title.
Without a win against Chelsea for two in a row
It would be all the more important for Klopp’s team to at least consolidate second place with an away win at Stamford Bridge. If the Reds then reliably take the points and Manchester City allow themselves a weak phase at some point, perhaps something could still go in terms of championship title number 20.
The team from Merseyside is the favourite going into the game. Bet3000, the bookmaker tested by Wettbasis, offers odds of 2.50 on bet 2 for Chelsea against Liverpool. However, this also requires an end to the recent drought against the Pensioners, against whom there were no wins in two consecutive league games.
Predicted Liverpool line-up:
Alisson – Tsimikas – van Dijk – Matip – Alexander-Arnold – Fabinho – Oxlade-Chamberlain – Henderson – Mané – Salah – Firmino
Last matches played by Liverpool:
Premier League
12/28 2021 – Leicester 1 – 0 Liverpool FC
Carabao Cup
12/22 2021 – Liverpool FC (5)3 – 3(4) Leicester
Premier League
12/19 2021 – Tottenham 2 – 2 Liverpool FC
12/16 2021 – Liverpool FC 3 – 1 Newcastle United
12/11 2021 – Liverpool FC 1 – 0 Aston Villa
Chelsea – Liverpool Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
Head to head: 65 – 42 – 82
There have been a total of 189 meetings between the two teams so far and the Reds lead the head-to-head comparison with 82 wins. However, since Thomas Tuchel took over the Blues, LFC have failed to beat Chelsea twice in a row (one draw, one defeat).
Chelsea – Liverpool Tip
For Chelsea against Liverpool, the prediction has to take into account that the Reds went without scoring a goal of their own for the first time in the 2021/22 season last Sunday at Leicester and lost for the first time after ten games in a row. The momentum has been lost for Klopp’s side ahead of their chasing clash with the Blues, while the Londoners themselves are unbeaten in seven competitive games.
We expect a close match that will probably be decided by nuances. Both teams are likely to have their focus on defence. On average, both Chelsea (14) and Liverpool (16) conceded less than one goal per game in the Premier League.
The value for the bet on less than 2.5 goals is accordingly high, which would also have always worked out in four of their last five meetings.
