Friday night football sees Chelsea host Liverpool in what has become one of English football’s modern rivalries. Chelsea suffered an agonising draw to Swansea last weekend, having dominated most of the game, whilst Liverpool beat champions Leicester 4-1 in their first match at Anfield with the new stand. The Blues go into Friday’s match as slight favourites at 5/4, with Liverpool tipped as outsiders at 9/4.
Jurgen Klopp has already spoken about the danger that Diego Costa poses to the opposition and the Chelsea striker scored twice against Swansea last week. His tally now stands at 4 goals in 4 games this season and he’s the favourite to score first at 17/4. Costa isn’t the only threat that Chelsea pose as Eden Hazard has started to return to the form that saw him crowned as Player of the Year two years ago. Priced at 19/10 to score at any time, he’s exactly the type of player that could terrorise a Liverpool defence which has occasional lapses of concentration. At the other end of the pitch, Gary Cahill won’t face any action after his outburst at the referee after last Sunday’s game. His defensive partner John Terry however is sidelined with a foot injury. David Luiz is set to replace him and make his second debut for Chelsea. Luiz has a mistake in him and Chelsea are priced at 47/20 to keep a clean sheet on Friday night.
Stamford Bridge was the venue where Klopp enjoyed his first victory as Liverpool manager last season, as the Reds defeated a slowly crumbling Jose Mourinho-led Chelsea team 3-1. The odds on them doing the same again this season are 58/1. Klopp has a variety of attacking options to pick from, but his defensive options are much more limited. James Milner is expected to fill in again at left back and it might not be long before Loris Karius makes his debut in goal, in place of Simon Mignolet. Mignolet is inconsistent at best and Liverpool have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last ten league meetings with Chelsea.
Match Prediction and Stats
Chelsea and Liverpool contested a hard-fought friendly in the USA in the summer, with Chelsea winning 1-0 in a game which also saw Cesc Fabregas sent off. Their last league game finished as a 1-1 draw in May. In terms of what we can expect from this match, there should be goals. Over 3.5 goals in the game is priced at 7/4. As for an exact score prediction, Chelsea to edge it 2-1 is available at 33/4.
