Liverpool's 100% record faces another test against unpredictable Chelsea.
Cast your minds back to last season: Liverpool travelled to Chelsea in late September, unbeaten, to face a Blues side with a manager still very much implementing his ideas.
Not much has changed really.
That match ended all-square after Daniel Sturridge’s late screamer kept his side’s unbeaten run intact—despite Chelsea having the best opportunities throughout the match—and this one is shaping up to be another mouth-watering affair.
Both sides suffered poor Champions League defeats during the week - Chelsea at home to Valencia after Ross Barkley’s penalty miss, and Liverpool dishing up a really weak display at Napoli for the second consecutive season.
Of course Liverpool in the Premier League have a 100% record heading into this one, while Chelsea—who have the second-worst defence in the league and the third-best attack—have been a little up-and-down, although I don’t believe this will be apparent throughout the course of the match.
Liverpool have won just one of their last seven matches against Chelsea (the UEFA Super Cup is firmly down as a draw), and I believe this is where they drop their first points of the season, so I’m backing a Chelsea/draw double chance.
The Blues are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League home matches, and while there are goals packed into both sides, under three goals have been scored in the last six Premier League meetings between the two sides.
Liverpool’s last couple of trips to Stamford Bridge haven’t yielded victories, and after a few iffy performances from Andy Robertson and Virgil van Dijk at the back, this might just be an opportunity for Chelsea to snatch another positive result – particularly if Mason Mount is fit and Tammy Abraham continues his excellent form.
This fixture has often been characterised by early goals.
A goal has been scored within 35 minutes in the last eight meetings between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
Though these are generally not goal-fests, the data suggests it’s well worth backing an early strike, so therefore my second tip is for a goal to be scored before the 25th minute – just for a little added value.
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