Glen Johnson will get to see two of his former clubs face off today as Liverpool return to Premier League action by welcoming Chelsea to Anfield.
The Reds remain top of the table this morning after Arsenal lost at Bournemouth yesterday, although Manchester City could dislodge them for a few hours at least if they defeat 19th-placed Wolves in the 2pm kick-off.
The current standings would suggest that the Blues provide Arne Slot with their toughest test of the top-flight campaign so far, with Enzo Maresca’s team having begun the weekend in fourth (Aston Villa and Brighton have since moved ahead of them for the time being).
Speaking to Genting Casino (via The Mirror), Johnson is expecting Chelsea to provide stern opposition for Liverpool, but he still expects the Premier League leaders to emerge victorious at Anfield.
The 40-year-old said: “Obviously, there’s no easy game if you’re not at it in the Premier League, but definitely, the big fixtures, they’re much harder to win than your average game in the Premier League.
“I think this is going to be the toughest one because Chelsea are in form. I think it’ll be a real test, but its probably a bigger carrot for Chelsea than Liverpool. I think Liverpool will win 2-1.”
Johnson also praised the job that Slot has done with the Reds so far, describing the Dutchman as ‘very chilled’ and commending him for not making radical changes to what had served Jurgen Klopp so well.
Today’s fixture begins a run of seven matches in 21 days which sees Liverpool face the four teams placed from third to sixth in the current Premier League table, as well as two Bundesliga giants (RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverksen) in Champions League action and a tough Carabao Cup test away to Brighton.
The next three weeks should tell us a lot about where the Reds are at, and Arsenal’s surprise defeat yesterday offers a big incentive to stretch clear of them ahead of our trip to the Emirates Stadium next weekend.
It’ll be no easy task to keep the winning run going against Chelsea, who are unbeaten domestically since the opening matchday of the Premier League season (and that one defeat was to Man City) and who have one of the country’s most prolific forwards in Cole Palmer (six goals already this term).
However, Liverpool aren’t exactly short of firepower themselves in the likes of Mo Salah, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota (15 goals between them in 2024/25 so far), and they come into this match with a confidence and assurance from their recent results.
We’d go along with Johnson’s forecaste of a 2-1 home win.
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