Liverpool vs Chelsea Prediction & Betting Tips (31 January)

Not at the level in the previous year, Liverpool are involved in the fight for the title this season. The Mersey club is now at the top of the Premier League with 1 game more and 5 points ahead of its runner-up Manchester City. Confident in their strength, the Reds have only lost one league match so far. They remain on 3 victories acquired against Burnley 0-2, Newcastle 4-2 and Bournemouth 0-4. Qualified for the League Cup final, Liverpool also dominated Norwich in the FA Cup last weekend 5-2. Anfield was able to pay tribute to its coach Jürgen Klopp, in office since 2015, who recently announced his choice to leave the club at the end of the season. Leader of its Europa League group, the Mersey club is qualified for the round of 16.

Stuck in the soft underbelly of the ranking, Chelsea is still not meeting expectations this season despite great ambitions. The London team is currently 9th in the Premier League and is 9 points behind 5th place. It should still be noted that the Blues have been showing improvement in recent weeks, as evidenced by the 4 wins acquired over the last 5 days, for 1 defeat. They remain on 3 successes obtained against Crystal Palace 2-1, Luton 2-3 and Fulham 1-0. Chelsea have since progressed to the League Cup final before drawing Aston Villa in the FA Cup last weekend 0-0. A replay will therefore be played in Birmingham mid-next week.

For Liverpool, replacement Tsimikas and long-term absentees Matip, Thiago Alcantara and Bajcetic have not recovered from their physical problems. Furthermore, internationals Salah (14 goals and 8 assists in the PL) and Endo are still not available for the Reds. The match played last weekend allowed executives Robertson, Alexander-Arnold and Szoboszlai to return to the pitch. Effective these days, Darwin Nunez (7 goals and 6 assists in PL) has taken over from Salah.

He scored against Norwich as did the other striker Diogo Jota (7 goals and 2 assists in the PL). No significant element has left or arrived on the banks of the Mersey this winter.