Jose Mourinho’s days at Chelsea may be numbered. The Special One has been completely unable to steady the defending champions’ ship, which has sunk to disappointing depths this season. The Blues simply can’t afford to drop another game against visiting Liverpool, who will be hungry to claim their first league win under new manager Jurgen Klopp.
Read on for our preview of this marquee Premier League showdown. And for more Saturday sports action, check out the best games in Week 9 of the college football season here.
[sc:Soccer ]Chelsea vs. Liverpool Preview
Where: Stamford Bridge, London
When: Saturday, October 31, 8:45 PM ET
Line: Chelsea -105 vs. Liverpool +270, tie +205; total 2.5 – view all EPL lines
Betting on Chelsea
An already disastrous season just got worse for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea as they were knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Stoke on penalties. Prior to the cup exit, the Blues had won just one of their last six games. They lost 2-1 away to West Ham in their last Premier League match, dropping the defending champions back down to 15th in the table.
It’s gotten so bad that Top Bet has the odds of the Liverpool being Mou’s last game as Chelsea boss at +500.
Midfielder Nemanja Matic was sent off just before halftime at West Ham, and was shortly followed by Mourinho himself as he argued with the referee. Matic is eligible to return to the starting line-up after serving his one-match ban at the loss to Stoke, but his presence might not even do the team much good given his poor form this season.
Matic is hardly the only underperforming Chelsea player, though. Midfield partner Cesc Fabregas has been a non-factor offensively and a liability on defense. Eden Hazard has shown none of the form that earned him player of the year honors last season. Meanwhile, top striker Diego Costa is also a doubt for Liverpool after he needed to be hospitalized due to a rib injury.
It’s tough to see Chelsea straight up winning against Liverpool given how anemic the offense has been, although they could still be able to extend their six-match undefeated run against Reds (two wins, four draws).
Liverpool doesn’t exactly have the speed in their side that has given Chelsea problems all season long. They will also play the same 4-2-3-1 formation as Chelsea, which could just see the two teams cancel each other out.
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Betting on Liverpool
Liverpool finally got their first win in the Jurgen Klopp era as they beat struggling Bournemouth 1-0 in the Capital One Cup. The Reds had drawn their first three games under Klopp – 0-0 away to Tottenham, and 1-1 against both Rubin Kazan and Southampton at home.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Klopp has had to deal with quite a few injury concerns in his first weeks in charge, but he should have Christian Benteke back leading the line at Stamford Bridge. Benteke is the team’s leading scorer with three goals this season, and got his third goal in the draw against Southampton.
Liverpool have been very solid defensively with Klopp using a double-pivot of Lucas Leiva and Emre Can in midfield. The Reds should be able to maintain that solidity against a Chelsea attack that has struggled mightily this entire season.
However, Liverpool’s own attacking midfielders have yet to fire on all cylinders as well. Big-money signing Roberto Firmino has had a rough first season, while Philippe Coutinho has just one goal and two assists thus far.
With a busy schedule preventing the Reds from doing much practicing, Klopp is still unable to implement his patented pressing style on the team. With that in mind, Liverpool should be a little more conservative in their gameplan away from home.
Liverpool have just one win with three draws and one loss in five away games in the league this season, and have scored just three goals with four conceded.
Writer’s Prediction
Chelsea and Liverpool share the spoils and play out a 1-1 draw (+205).
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