Chelsea will play hosts to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge looking to get a victory which would keep their top 4 hopes alive. The Blues are currently 6 points behind their Merseyside counterparts in the league standings, but with a game in hand. They could close the gap to just three points with a win on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, the Reds come into this clash after booking their place in the final of the UEFA Champions League following their 7-6 aggregate win over AS Roma this week. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp would know that a result at Stamford Bridge this weekend will take them one step closer towards ensuring Champions League football for the next campaign.
It is expected that Chelsea manager Antonio Conte will opt for a 3-5-1-1 to counter Klopp’s 4-3-3 formation for Liverpool.
Team News
Chelsea
Marcos Alonso will be available for this encounter after serving out his three-match suspension which means that Emerson Palmieri is likely to miss out on Sunday. Conte could also opt to start Willian after the Brazilian did not start in their away trip at the Liberty Stadium last weekend. It is expected that Olivier Giroud will get the nod over Alvaro Morata once again as the Frenchman remains more of a goal-threat up top.
Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp could opt to rest some of his first-teamers after their exhausting midweek clash at Rome. However, the German manager is still expected to name a strong side for this contest but he would be without the services of Emre Can, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joel Matip, who will all miss out due to injuries.
Predicted Lineups
Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill, Antonio Rudiger; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, NGolo Kante, Tiémoué Bakayoko, Marcos Alonso; Eden Hazard, Olivier Giroud
Liverpool
Loris Karius; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil Van Dijk, Dejan Lovren, Andrew Robertson; Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson, James Milner; Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane
Key Men
Chelsea
Olivier Giroud will be responsible to carry the workload for the Blues up top. He needs to have a good game if Chelsea are to win this contest. Eden Hazard will also play a key part in the opposition half. Marcos Alonso could be tasked with keeping Salah quiet so it remains to be seen how the Spaniard copes with the pace and guile of Liverpool’s Egyptian star.
Liverpool
Dejan Lovren needs to have a good game for Jurgen Klopp’s side after some high profile mistakes in recent weeks. The Reds’ front three of Mane, Firmino and Salah will be expected to give the Chelsea defence a lot of headaches during the contest.
Odds
Chelsea win: 6/5
Draw: 13/5
Liverpool win: 12/5
