Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool will look to avoid becoming the first Reds team since 1923 to lose four straight games at home when they take on Chelsea in a potentially season defining clash at Anfield tonight.
The Reds have had a terrible last ten days or so, losing further ground to Chelsea after a 3-2 loss to struggling Swansea and being knocked out of both the League Cup and the FA Cup by Southampton and Wolves respectively. They are currently in fourth place but already ten points behind Antonio Conte’s league leaders and a loss tonight could effectively deliver the coup de grace to their already slim title prospects.
It’s been a disappointing start to the New Year for Klopp and his men. They’ve won just once in eight games this month- a 1-0 triumph away at Plymouth and they’ve sorely missed Sadio Mane, with the Senegalese star away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations. The goals have dried up in his absence and so have the victories. However Mane is now available for selection after Senegal lost in the quarterfinals of AFCON to Cameroon and so desperate were the Reds to have him back that they sent a private jet to Gabon for his return to Merseyside.
Here is a STUNNING stat that emphasises Liverpool’s dependence on Mane- with him, they’ve played 21 games and lost just once, and that loss came against Bournemouth (they were LEADING 3-1 when he was subbed off!)
Tonight’s game marks the first time since early November that Klopp has the quartet of Mane, Firmino, Coutinho and Lallana ALL available for selection. The last time they played together was the 6-1 demolition of Watford- that imperious win now feels like a distant memory for Liverpool supporters.
The potential presence of the quartet, combined with the fact that the Reds are only one of three teams to have tasted success against Antonio Conte’s side in the Premiership this season (they beat them 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in September) has seen the bookies keep them as favourites despite their poor recent form. A look at the current betting odds confirms that- the best on Liverpool winning are at 17/10, while it’s 2/1 for the Blues at the time of writing.
In his stint at Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp also has an enviable record against big name opposition- he’s lost just one out of 14 in his league encounters against City, United, Spurs and Chelsea so far. Despite Liverpool’s recent struggles, a win against the Blues will see them go to 48 points and equal their best ever performance after 23 games in the modern Premiership era.
With Arsenal and Spurs having relatively easy ties against Watford and Sunderland respectively, the pressure is, without a doubt, on Jurgen Klopp’s side. After a taxing January, Klopp’s men will play ONLY three games in February and they will be keen to end the month on a high. They have played 15 games in the last 59 days, but will play the next 15 over 102 days- plenty of time for the German gaffer to get his side’s campaign back on track.
Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool (September 2016)
While Liverpool do have defensive issues, they will be slightly relieved by the fact that Chelsea are the lowest scorers among the top five in league games away from home this season. The Blues have scored only 17 times in 11 away ties so far and will face the Gunners on the weekend. Consecutive losses could see their lead at the top being cut to just two points, and the last time they lost two in a row in the league was when they faced Liverpool and Arsenal on successive weekends in September.
Liverpool v Chelsea (January 31, 2017)- 8 pm
Ref for this game will be Mark Clattenburg, whose last game with Liverpool was their 2-2 draw against West Ham in December, and with Chelsea, their 3-0 home win over Burnley in August.