By Joel Lefevre
Liverpool can all but guarantee their place in next season’s Champions League with a victory on Saturday at Anfield against Chelsea. With three Premier League matchdays remaining, the Reds are fourth in the table despite a 3-2 defeat at Manchester United last Sunday, while their upcoming London opponents sit ninth, following a 3-1 loss at home to Nottingham Forest.
Match Preview
In what has been a largely underwhelming campaign on all fronts, Liverpool can salvage some positivity by potentially earning a spot in the Champions League on Saturday. Arne Slot’s side can do so with a win and Bournemouth dropping points, with the Merseyside club unbeaten in four straight top-flight outings at home.
In 16 Premier League matches this season, Liverpool have conceded multiple goals, only doing so more times in the 2012-13 campaign (17). Another defeat for them this weekend would equal the club's previous record in this competition, set during the 2014-15 season, when Brendan Rodgers’ men lost a dozen times.
On three occasions at home in 2026, this team have failed to win when netting first domestically, dropping a combined seven points at Anfield as a result. They have points in four successive Premier League meetings with Chelsea, winning those previous two such contests, including a narrow 2-1 triumph last season.
Credits - This Is Anfield
As disappointing as the Reds have been this season, it might not compare to how poor the Blues have been all season long, particularly in recent times. Calum McFarlane is in his second stint as interim manager this season, taking over from Liam Rosenior in April, and has not earned a single point in his second tenure at the helm.
Coming into this match, Chelsea have lost six consecutive Premier League affairs, outscored by a combined margin of 14-1 over that stretch. Should they lose this weekend, it would be the first time they suffer seven successive defeats in a top-flight campaign since 1952.
They have conceded at least one goal in their last 13 Premier League games, which is just four fewer than their previous longest run without a clean sheet in this competition, back in 1991. Although they have won just one of their previous 10 visits to Anfield domestically, they could complete the double against Liverpool on Saturday for the first time since 2013-14.
Team News
A knee injury could keep Conor Bradley on the Liverpool sidelines this weekend, Jayden Danns and Stefan Bajcetic have hamstring strains, while Giovanni Leoni and Giorgi Mamardashvili have knee issues and could be questionable.
Despite a muscle issue, Alisson could be back for this one, Mohamed Salah has that same issue, while Wataru Endo has a foot problem, Alexander Isak is questionable due to a knock, and Hugo Ekitiké is out because of an Achilles injury.
Dominik Szoboszlai has been arguably the best Liverpool player all season, boasting the most goals and assists on the team across all competitions (13 goals, 10 assists), becoming the first Reds player since Steven Gerrard in 2013-14 to have double digits for goals and assists in a single campaign (14 each).
Over at Chelsea, Jamie Gittens and Estêvão have sore hamstrings, while Jesse Derry has a head injury and might miss out on Saturday. At the same time, Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto could both be sidelined with knocks after missing their outing with Forest on Monday.
João Pedro will be a man to watch this weekend, with the Brazilian leading the Blues with 20 goals across all competitions this season, directly involved in seven of this team’s last nine Premier League goals, netting on six of those occasions.
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