Liverpool vs. Chelsea: Can Reds End Blues’ European Qualification Hopes?

Chelsea Looking to Halt Miserable Premier League Run at Anfield 

Less than two months ago, Chelsea looked destined for UEFA Champions League qualification, as they were comfortably placed in the top five after an impressive 4-1 away victory over Aston Villa on Matchday 29, which confirmed our Premier League predictions. 

However, since then, things have gone awry, as the Blues prepare to head to Anfield this weekend following six consecutive league defeats, capped off by a painful 3-1 drubbing at the hands of Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge on Monday night. 

Chelsea last six Premier League results:

During this losing streak, the West Londoners decided to part ways with Liam Rosenior after just 107 days in charge, with Calum McFarlane taking over on an interim basis for the second time this season ahead of their defeat to the Tricky Trees earlier this week. 

Additionally, Chelsea have now dropped all the way to ninth place in the EPL standings, still on 48 points with three games left to play. They are already 10 points behind Aston Villa, meaning they cannot finish inside the top five in the Premier League standings.

Indeed, there is still a chance for the Blues as England could be allowed six teams in the UCL next season if Aston Villa win the Europa League and end the league season in fifth place. However, Chelsea are six points behind Bournemouth (6th), meaning a top-six finish would be impossible if they lose here and the Cherries win their match this weekend. 

The one positive for the FIFA Club World Cup winners is that they are still standing in the FA Cup, with a meeting against Manchester City at Wembley next weekend. A victory for Chelsea in that match will guarantee them qualification to the Europa League next season. 

See our Liverpool vs Chelsea prediction

Player Focus: Alexander Isak vs. Joao Pedro 

Liverpool enter today’s lunchtime kickoff off the back of a 3-2 defeat to arch-rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford last week, where Arne Slot’s side were forced to make do without three of their starting attackers in Alexander Isak, Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike due to injury. 

However, as mentioned in our Liverpool vs Chelsea prediction, the Reds received a significant boost during the week, with Slot confirming that Isak had returned to training on Thursday, and explaining that the Swedish international would be assessed ahead of kickoff this weekend. 

Isak has spent the majority of the season on the sidelines through injury, managing just eight Premier League starts since arriving on Merseyside last summer, but he did score in Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace on April 25, and Reds’ fans will be hoping he is able to feature in this match. 

Chelsea’s recent downturn has been partly attributable to their leaky defence, as they have conceded three goals in four of their last five matches and have failed to shut out opponents in their last 13 - their second-longest run without a clean sheet in the top flight since 1991.

An equal contributor, though, has been their lack of attacking output, having failed to score in five consecutive league matches before finding what turned out to be a mere consolation by Joao Pedro in the defeat to Nottingham Forest on Monday night. 

However, Pedro’s goal will give the Blues’ fans some hope as he had missed their previous two games due to injury. The Brazilian is the team’s top scorer in the Prem (15) and across all competitions this season (20), and has directly contributed to seven of their last nine league goals (6 goals, 1 assist). 

View our Premier League predictions