Overview
Just a few weeks ago, the race to win tickets to the Champions League in the Premier League was still extremely tense with the participation of Manchester United, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Chelsea. However, the current situation is almost decided.
Man United have joined Arsenal and Man City to win tickets to the Champions League next season. Meanwhile, Chelsea is almost out of the race due to serious decline in form.
Liverpool and Aston Villa are currently the two brightest teams for the remaining spots in the top 5. However, The Kop must quickly regain their spirit after the defeat to Man United, a defeat that ended Arne Slot's team's three-match winning streak in the Premier League.
This is a difficult season for Liverpool in their journey to defend the throne. The Anfield team has lost 11 matches in the Premier League, the worst record since the 2014-2015 season under Brendan Rodgers. In all competitions, Liverpool has received up to 18 defeats, the most since the 2009-2010 season.
The biggest weakness of the red shirt team lies in the defense. Liverpool have conceded 2 or more goals in 16 Premier League matches this season, only less than in the 2012-2013 season when they had 17 such matches.
Meanwhile, The Blues continue to sink deeper into crisis. They have lost all 6 of their last matches in the Premier League and are facing the risk of re-establishing the seven consecutive defeats that occurred in 1952.
The London team also did not score in 5/6 recent defeats before Joao Pedro scored a "reversal bicycle" super goal in the 1-3 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
The appearance of interim coach Calum McFarlane after Liam Rosenior was sacked has not had a positive effect. Chelsea is currently ranked ninth, 4 points behind the Europa League group and almost has no chance of participating in the Champions League.
However, Joao Pedro is still a rare bright spot. The Brazilian striker has scored 15 goals in the Premier League and has a total of 20 goals in all competitions. He also directly participated in 7 of Chelsea's last 9 goals in the league.
On Liverpool's side, Dominik Szoboszlai continues to maintain impressive form. The Hungarian midfielder has scored 13 goals and 10 assists in all competitions, becoming the first Liverpool midfielder since Steven Gerrard in the 2013-2014 season to reach a double-digit milestone in both of these statistics.
In terms of force, Liverpool will be without Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitike and Conor Bradley due to injuries, although Arne Slot is likely to welcome the return of Alexander Isak and Alisson Becker.
Chelsea also faced great difficulties when goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was injured in the match against Nottingham Forest and almost certainly will be absent. In addition, Estevao, Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho have not yet ensured fitness to play.
Head-to-head record
Liverpool have lost to Chelsea in both of their most recent Premier League encounters, equal to the number of defeats they have suffered in the previous 20 encounters between the two teams. Before this series of matches, The Kop had won 8 and drawn 10 matches against the London representative.
The Anfield home team has also never lost 3 consecutive matches against Chelsea since the period from December 2013 to November 2014.
In the first leg of this season at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea won 2-1 and are currently aiming to complete a double victory against Liverpool in the Premier League for the first time since the 2013-2014 season.
However, Chelsea's away record against Liverpool in recent years has not been really positive. The Blues have only won one of their last 10 away games at Anfield in the Premier League, drawing 5 and losing 4.
Score prediction: Liverpool 2-2 Chelsea
The match between Liverpool and Chelsea takes place at 6:30 PM on May 9th (Vietnam time).
