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Liverpool host Chelsea at Anfield hoping to maintain their spot at the top of the Premier League table. Arne Slot has had a fantastic start to his tenure as Liverpool manager with six wins from his first seven top-flight outing.
The Reds came into the weekend with a slender lead over Manchester City and Arsenal though the Gunners failed to capitalise when they slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday evening.
Liverpool’s last outing was a 1-0 away win at Crystal Palace and Slot will hope that his players have had sufficient recovery time over the international break ahead of what is undoubtedly the biggest test the Reds have faced yet with Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea flying in the league.
The former Leicester City manager has settled nicely at Stamford Bridge steering the Blues to four wins from their seven matches and beating Liverpool will be his biggest statement so far. The hosts ran away 4-1 winners in the same fixture last season so Chelsea have their work cut out this afternoon.
Follow all the Premier League action with our live blog below:
Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
Great play from Lavia to sell the dummy and skip away from the challenge to get Chelsea out of a tight position. The away side attack but James’ early cross is headed clear by Konate.
Chris Wilson20 October 2024 16:35
Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
A few exchanges of possession as both sides look to settle early on.
Tosin gives away possession near his own box but Liverpool recycle possession back to van Dijk.
Chris Wilson20 October 2024 16:34
KICK-OFF! Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
The away get us underway on Merseyside.
Chris Wilson20 October 2024 16:32
Liverpool vs Chelsea LIVE
Richard Jolly at Anfield:
“Arne Slot may have learnt the lesson of Liverpool’s defeat to Nottingham Forest by benching their three South Americans today for the first game after an international break – though Alexis Mac Allister, who felt ill on the plane back from representing Argentina, was not ready to start anyway. For Chelsea, Reece James’ first start of the season means there will be a focus on the injury-hit captain in a suspension-hit defence.”
Chris Wilson20 October 2024 16:28
Liverpool vs Chelsea LIVE
The teams are in the tunnel at Anfield, so we’re only moments from kick-off.
Chris Wilson20 October 2024 16:25
Match facts
Chelsea have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games against Liverpool (drawing five and losing three.
Along with Liverpool, Chelsea are one of two sides with a 100% away win rate in the Premier League this season.
Only Manchester City (17) have scored more goals than Chelsea (16) in the division this term, and only Tottenham boast a higher xG (15.0) than the Blues (14.7).
Enzo Maresca is looking to become only the fifth manager to win each of his first four away Premier League games, with one of the previous four to do so being his counterpart in this match, Liverpool’s Arne Slot.
Chelsea pair Cole Palmer (11) and Noni Madueke (4) have created 15 chances for each other in the Premier League this season, the most of any duo.
Chris Wilson20 October 2024 16:23
Match facts
Liverpool are unbeaten in their last six Premier League meetings with Chelsea, though five of these have ended level. Having lost three consecutive league games against Chelsea between 2013 and 2014, the Reds have now lost just two of their last 19, winging seven and drawing 10.
Liverpool have conceded the fewest goals (two), kept the most clean sheets (five), and have the lowest expected goals against figure (5.2) of any side in the Premier League this season.
Mohamed Salah has four goals in 13 Premier League games against his former side, averaging a goal every 257 minutes against the Blues. He only has a worse minutes-per-goal rate against Burnley.
Chris Wilson20 October 2024 16:18
Is Liverpool v Chelsea on TV?
A reminder of how you can watch the late-afternoon match today – we’re around 15 minutes from kick-off.
Liverpool vs Chelsea is due to kick off at 4:30pm BST on Sunday 20 October at Anfield.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage on these channels beginning at 4pm. Subscribers can stream the action on Sky Go or Now TV.
Chris Wilson20 October 2024 16:15
What the managers have said
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said that today’s match “is a special game for all of the clubs”.
“Liverpool is a nice environment, fantastic. We are excited to play this kind of game. All the games we have played until now have not been easy. We are going to do our best.
“I don’t think Sunday’s game defines where we are. In this moment, we have to be focused on things we need to improve.
“We have Liverpool and then two or three more games. Nottingham wasn’t an easy game, or Brighton, West Ham away or Bournemouth away.
“[The] Premier League is the best league in the world and the toughest league in the world,” he added.
When asked on how he feels about his club’s start to the season, the Italian said: “[I’m] very happy because what I expected in terms of players, level and style, I can see clearly that is there.
“It doesn’t matter in this moment who is going to play, you can see clearly how we want to play.”
Chris Wilson20 October 2024 16:10
What the managers have said
Speaking in a press conference ahead of today’s game, Arne Slot said that he is “looking forward to a very interesting game”.
“Chelsea does really well. If you look at the league table then they are the ones that might be our toughest opponent.
“But it’s not always about the league table. Sometimes it’s about the form of the day, it’s about their game plan.
“We had some difficulty with Wolves as well, who are bottom of the league, I think. But it is a challenge, that’s for sure,” he added.
When speaking about Liverpool’s tough run of upcoming fixtures, he said: “I think we have to judge us as a team after this spell of games – not three of them but six, seven or eight of them.
“Then we know better how we act and how we perform if we play tough Champions League games and tough league games.
“That is normal in everybody’s season and we know how difficult it is.”
Chris Wilson20 October 2024 16:05