By all accounts, Liverpool have had a horrible start to the year 2017and Chelsea will be looking to make sure their month ends on an even more miserable note.
In their last six matches in all competitions, Liverpool have won just once. That sole victory was a 1-0 victory against Plymouth Argyle who they were trying to beat at the second attempt. With three losses on the bounce and being knocked out of two cup competitions in the last in the last four days, Liverpool will be desperate for a win. Liverpool lie in 4th position with 45 points, 10 points below their visitors Chelsea and are in real danger of being knocked out of the title race at this rate. Jurgen Klopp has admitted that the mood on Merseyside has suffered after losses to Swansea, Southampton and Wolves. “This is still a very good squad, and I am still quite a good manager even though we have lost the last three games. That doesn’t change, but the mood around us has changed.” he said.
In team news, Sadio Mane should be back for the Reds. How much of the game he will be involved in is questionable as he only just got done with AFCON duty and will likely need to recover from that. With Liverpool desperate to win, Klopp will most likely play his star man alongside Philippe Countinho and Roberto Firmino in at attacking three. Chelsea have a full complement of players available for their trip to Liverpool and will be hoping to continue their fine form. Diego Costa, with 15 goals to his name, is back in the side and back among the goals for the Blues while Eden Hazard has been at his terrorizing best after a rocky campaign last year. A draw would be a palatable result for Chelsea who sit eight points clear of the chasing pack but if they go down and need to get back into it, Costa will no doubt be their go to guy.
The best betting odds for this game suggest a draw is the most likely result and we would tend to agree. Liverpool can’t afford to lose another game and Chelsea won’t mind a point. Liverpool are also at home and will have the onus on them to try and break down a solid Chelsea defense which is easier said than done. Unless an early goal is scored, Chelsea will have no incentive to take a risk which is a scenario that lends itself to a stalemate.