Liverpool marked their first match since Jurgen Klopp’s bombshell announcement to step down at the end of the season with an emphatic 5-2 home victory over Norwich City in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.
A ruthless Reds outfit capitalised on the Canaries’ sloppy play out from the back, as Curtis Jones, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch all got their names on the scoresheet to help the eight-time FA Cup winners set up a favourable fifth-round home tie against either Watford or Southampton at the end of February.
Klopp’s men have extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 10 games, while they have only lost one of their last 17 matches over the last two-and-a-half months, but their mettle is set to be tested in back-to-back home league fixtures against Chelsea and Arsenal in the space of five days.
Liverpool currently sit five points clear at the top of the table, but reigning champions Manchester City – who sit second and level on points with both Arsenal in third and Aston Villa in fourth – have a game in hand on the Reds.
Boasting a 22-game unbeaten league run at Anfield, Liverpool have every right to feel optimistic heading into Wednesday’s clash, but success is not a given as there has been nothing to separate the Reds and Chelsea in recent years.
Indeed, each of the last seven meetings between the two clubs have ended as draws, including four 0-0 stalemates in 90 minutes – this run of consecutive draws is the longest between two top-flight teams in English football history.
common theme at Chelsea this season, Mauricio Pochettino’s side lacked a cutting edge in the final third and squandered a number of chances in front of goal, before an inspired display from goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic thwarted Aston Villa’s late efforts to snatch a winner when the Blues ran out of steam in the final 20 minutes.
links >> Stream 1 HD Stream 2 HD Stream 3 HD Stream 4 HD
While Chelsea deserve the plaudits that come their way for putting together a 10-game unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge, there is little to be desired about their recent away form as they head to Liverpool having lost five of their last six games on the road in all competitions, conceding at least twice on five of those occasions.
However, the West Londoners have only lost two of their last 11 visits to Anfield, with those defeats coming in succession in April 2019 (2-0) and July 2020 (5-3), while they have also won a Premier League record 18 games against teams starting the day at the top of the table, which bodes well ahead of Wednesday’s showdown.
Following a run of three consecutive top-flight wins, Chelsea have climbed to ninth in the table and have reason to be optimistic of success in midweek, as they endeavour to claim the three points that they need to leapfrog Manchester United and potentially Brighton & Hove Albion into the European places.
