Premier League: Liverpool vs Chelsea betting preview

After a short break, the Premier League is back mid-week with matchday 22. While there are several tasty fixtures to keep an eye on, one will take center stage on Wednesday. First-place Liverpool will welcome London rivals Chelsea to Anfield for their first meeting of the campaign. The kick-off is scheduled for 3:15 PM ET. The Reds are flying high and just hammered Norwich City in the fourth round of the FA Cup over the weekend, while the Blues settled for a scoreless draw in the same competition with Aston Villa. They will need to partake in replay next month. Below, we’ll discuss the head-to-head history, recent form, and any injuries.

Head-to-head history

Liverpool vs Chelsea is a historic Premier League rivalry. These two sides have met a total of 195 times since 1907, with the Reds having the superior 84-46-65 record. As of recently though, there isn’t much separating Liverpool and Chelsea, playing to three consecutive draws. Only two goals were scored in total during that span.

Liverpool

The Reds have surely made their presence felt in 2023-24 after struggling last term. Jurgen Klopp’s men are five points clear at the top of the table, although Man City does have a game in hand in second. Regardless, this side is firing on all cylinders. They own a 14-6-1 record and haven’t tasted defeat in league action since late September against Tottenham. In fact, Liverpool’s only two losses of the season came in Europa and that simply came down to not dressing a full-strength starting XI.

The Merseysiders have bagged 47 goals in 21 games while conceding just 18 times in Premier League play. This side has arguably the best attack in the world with countless options who can hit the back of the net. Mo Salah is enjoying an incredible campaign with 14 goals and eight assists, while Uruguayan Darwin Nunez has scored seven and assisted six. The likes of Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, and Diogo Jota are all lethal, too.

There are some absences for Liverpool here. Mo Salah is still battling a thigh problem that prevented him from playing much for Egypt at AFCON. Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara, Kostas Tsimikas, and Wataru Endo are all out, too. Regardless, the hosts are a clear -175 favorite at 888sport.

Chelsea

It’s been another season of growing pains for Chelsea, who are struggling to find themselves with a relatively young group of players. The Blues are down in ninth in the table and four points off a European spot. Consistency is a major issue for Mauricio Pochettino’s men, which is evident by their 9-4-8 record. However, the Blues’ form is better as of late.

Chelsea has won five of their last seven games across all competitions, with the only defeat coming to Middlesborough in the first leg of the League Cup. They did bounce back in the return tie though, smashing them 6-1. Former Man City starlet Cole Palmer has proven to be a phenomenal signing for the London outfit, bagging nine goals and setting up another four. Nicolas Jackson has also scored seven, but he’s not always reliable.

It does look like things are slowly coming together for the Blues, but they’ve compiled a poor 4-1-5 record on the road. That’s not a great sign when it comes to playing at Anfield against a title favorite. There’s also some injuries to keep an eye on for the visitors. Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella, and Trevoh Chalobah are all sidelined. Jackson is also absent as he’s at AFCON with Senegal. Chelsea is a clear underdog at soccer betting sites.