GRAHAM Potter has finally gone but will his departure signal a change in fortune for Chelsea? Liverpool will hope not…
Here are the latest match odds for Chelsea vs Liverpool.
Let’s face it, these are two underperforming sides.
Both secured Champions League football with top-four finishes less than 12 months ago but a repeat – for either side – now looks slim.
The pair both lost at the weekend to fall further behind their rivals for those top four spots. The gap now looks too wide to bridge for Chelsea, while the eight-point margin Liverpool need to make up is going to take some serious work.
Chelsea clearly decided enough is enough, sacking Graham Potter on Sunday after less than seven months in the hot seat, during which time he presided over 31 games, losing 11.
Bruno Saltor takes temporary charge of a Chelsea squad bloated by January’s transfer splurge – despite hundreds of millions being spent, there are still significant holes to fill and clearly many players to be moved on.
Whichever players he’s selecting, he will undoubtedly have told them they still have something to play for, although whether he’s believed or not must be open to question.
To stand any chance of a top-four finish, they surely have to win here.
A similar argument could be made about Liverpool, who were second best and then some against Manchester City on Saturday, losing 4-1.
In some ways, that’s no disgrace – plenty of others have suffered the same fate. The problem for Jurgen Klopp is it’s less than a year since Liverpool were potentially within 15 minutes of pipping City to the title. Their fall has been hard and fast.
An away record of three wins in 14 with eight defeats is the primary reason for their struggles. Only four points have been claimed from the last 21 available on the road.
Overall, Bournemouth, Everton and West Ham have all won more points across the last eight matches.
Perhaps it is time to go back to basics and nullify the potential threat. Both teams have the players to play on the counter attack.
It’s notable that the last three games between these two sides have all finished goalless, although admittedly two of them were Cup finals and no matter what is said here, the same level of importance is not attached to this contest.
With both sides in need of a base to build upon, the do-not-lose approach could well be adopted.
If that’s the case, then a goalless first half is another option worth considering – that’s occurred in nine of Chelsea’s home games already this season with their troubles in front of goal well documented.
Chelsea have scored only 16 goals in 14 home games (conceding just 12). For Liverpool, it’s 14 in 14 away.
Our top rated football bookmakers:
Fourteen of the last 28 games between Chelsea and Liverpool have ended all square, including the last five.
There’s rarely been a great deal between the two and while both have fallen back this season, the gap in the table is still only four points. In that sense, they are even closer to each other than they were this time last year.
A price of 13/5 about another stalemate looks decent enough given both sides could do with plugging the leaks and steadying the ship ahead of the run-in.
An intriguing battle awaits in the midfield at Stamford Bridge with Argentinian World Cup winner Fernandez set to go up against Liverpool’s Brazilian star, Fabinho.
That South American element should add extra spice and it would be no surprise to see either, if not both, booked.
Fernandez, whose tackle numbers have been high since his January move from Benfica, looks the better value at 3/1.
He’s been carded in two of his last four for Chelsea, while a look back to the first half of his season shows he was booked seven times during his time in Portugal.
Has occurred in six of the last seven meetings between the Blues and the Reds and it would be no surprise to see both teams adopt a more cautious policy.
In any case, Chelsea have struggled for goals at home and Liverpool, likewise, away (see above).
The last three encounters have all ended 0-0 – that’s also worth considering at around 9/1.
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