Liverpool are ending their first season under Jurgen Klopp on a high note. They’re in the final of a European tournament, and they’ve reestablished Anfield as a formidable place to visit in the Premier League. Can they continue their fine form in their final home game of the season against champions Chelsea, who are playing out the last days of their disastrous title reign?
Get a complete breakdown of this final midweek Premier League matchup with our preview below. Meanwhile, don’t forget to check out Tuesday’s top sports action with our preview of the Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins.
Line: Liverpool -111 vs. Chelsea +254, tie +230; total 2.5 – view all EPL lines
TV Broadcast: NBCSN
Betting on Liverpool
Liverpool’s spirits are still riding high after booking a spot in the Europa League final. The Reds blew Villarreal away 3-0 at Anfield last week, and followed that up with a 2-0 home win against Watford over the weekend.
Liverpool fielded somewhat weakened teams in the league before their two Europa League semifinal legs against Villarreal. Manager Jurgen Klopp has used those games to give some inexperienced youth players playing time. With the Europa League final in a week’s time, Klopp is unlikely to start his strongest side against Chelsea and may elect to give some of his stars the night off.
However, whatever team he fields should still be fully motivated to perform at a high level against the Blues. Some squad players who might be handed a start, in particular, could use this game as an opportunity to impress and earn a starting spot for the final. Joe Allen is one of those players, and he has already put his name in contention for a start after scoring a goal against Watford.
Liverpool’s motivation to perform well in front of their home crowd also shouldn’t be discounted. The Reds’ impressive home form has now stretched to eight wins and three draws in their last 11 games in all competitions.
Betting on Chelsea
After coming back from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw against second-placed Tottenham, Chelsea were on the wrong end of another reversal as relegation-threatened Sunderland came back to beat them 3-2 over the weekend.
The Blues are ending their atrocious season much like how they started it. They have won just once, drawn once and lost three times in their last five league games.
It remains to be seen exactly what motivation the Chelsea players still have at this point. They can finish no better than ninth in the table, and they don’t really have any beef with Liverpool like they do with London rivals Spurs. Basically, all they have left to play for is pride as their wildly disappointing championship reign comes to a close.
Captain John Terry will be suspended after getting sent off in the Sunderland loss. Branislav Ivanovic might also miss out after subbing off with an apparent injury. Manager Guus Hiddink may be forced to go with an inexperienced youngster to partner Gary Cahill in the middle of Chelsea’s defense, which is hardly ideal, especially with the quality that Liverpool have at their disposal in attack.
Writer’s Prediction
Liverpool cruise to another home win as they beat Chelsea, 2-0.
