Liverpool and Chelsea kick off the weekend’s Premier League action at Anfield this afternoon. Despite a second-half comeback, the Reds lost against Manchester United last weekend, who secured Champions League qualification at the expense of their arch-rivals. Liverpool remain in fourth, but an intense battle is underway to secure the remaining spots.
Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for Europe’s premier club competition might be over. A dismal run of six defeats on the bounce – scoring just once in that run – has seen them slip down to ninth and could finish the weekend in the bottom half if results go against them. A win on Merseyside would offer faint hope however and provide some much-needed momentum ahead of next week’s FA Cup final against Manchester City.
Confirmed Lineups
Liverpool team: Mamardashvili, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Jones, Gakpo, Frimpong, Gravenberch, Ngumoha. Subs: Woodman, Gomez, Isak, Chiesa, Robertson, Nyoni, Morrison, Ndiaye, Wright.
Chelsea team: Jorgensen, Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella, Hato, Caicedo, Santos, Enzo, Palmer, Pedro. Subs: Slonina, James, Acheampong, Adarabioyo, Chalobah, Lavia, Eboue, Kabila-McQueen, Delap.
Team News
Liverpool are expected to have Alexander Isak available today. The Sweden international returned to training on Thursday with Arne Slot hopeful he can have a role to play. Giorgi Mamardashvili also returned to training this week and will be pushing to reclaim his place in goal with Alisson Becker still out. Mohamed Salah is still recovering from his hamstring issue and is set to miss out again.
Chelsea will be without Robert Sanchez, Jesse Derry, Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto today. Robert Sanchez was involved in a head-to-head collision with Morgan Gibbs-White during Monday’s defeat against Nottingham Forest, with both men requiring stitches.
Kick-off and TV Channel
The match kicks off at 12:30pm sharp. You can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1, with streaming also available through the HBO Max app.
