Prediction: Chelsea vs Liverpool

Verdict: Home win

Best odds: 11/10

Bookmaker: ZetBet

Liverpool travel to London as the newly crowned Premier League champions to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The Merseysiders clinched the title with a comprehensive victory over Tottenham Hotspur last week at a roaring Anfield, and the Blues managed a narrow triumph over another club from the north-west city – Everton – before going on to earn a considerable advantage in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semifinal encounter with Djurgarden on Thursday.

Chelsea

Every point between now and the end of the season counts for Chelsea as they fight to qualify for next season’s Champions League. The table is very tight in that section – second-placed Arsenal are yet to confirm their place in the top five with 67 points, five more than Newcastle in third place, six more than Manchester City in fourth, and seven more than Chelsea in fifth and Nottingham Forest in sixth. Aston Villa are also hopeful of finishing inside the top five, with a deficit of just three points behind the latter two rivals.

Therefore, the goal that Nicolas Jackson scored to seal the victory over Everton last week was of crucial importance.

Enzo Maresca’s men are also on the verge of reaching the Conference League final after beating Djurgarden in Sweden by 1-4. Jadon Sancho, Noni Madueke and Jackson (twice) were on target, before Isak Mulugeta scored the lone goal for the hosts. However, even winning this competition won’t be much of a consolation if Chelsea fail to secure a top-five finish in the Premier League, which means they’ll surely be looking to take advantage of any hangover Liverpool may be suffering from after winning the title; not to mention their lack of need for points.

But before the game, the London Blues will have a somewhat painful duty towards their guests – to return the favour from when they were given a “guard of honour” by Liverpool after their Premier League triumph exactly a decade ago.

Team News

Maresca still has a number of players absent through injury, on top of the suspension of winger Mykhaylo Mudryk. Filip Jorgensen is likely to start in goal with Robert Sanchez classed as a doubt at the moment. Right-back Malo Gusto is expected back in contention soon, but Sunday may be too soon. The same goes for forward Christopher Nkunku, who missed the Djurgarden trip with a knock, and midfielder Marc Guiu.

Defender Wesley Fofana, however, won’t return before the end of the season.

Having come off the bench to score a brace in midweek, Jackson is certain to return to the starting lineup, as are Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto.

Liverpool

Meanwhile, the title celebrations in the streets of Liverpool may have subsided by now, but the feeling of joy among everyone at the club for equaling Manchester United’s record of 20 league titles won’t be gone for quite a while.

Though it started in a worrying manner – with Dominic Solanke, formerly of both Chelsea and Liverpool – giving Spurs a shocking lead, the Reds responded with fury as Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister, Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, and an own-goal from Spurs defender Destiny Udogie, set the final score at 5-1. The celebrations started as soon as the final whistle sounded, as coach Arne Slot etched his name in the already glorious history of Liverpool FC.

In other circumstances, one would say that the champions have had a full week to prepare for the Chelsea trip, but as it is, it’s hard to imagine them starting work on Monday already. The Champions League exit at the round of 16, the FA Cup disappointment and the Carabao Cup final defeat are nothing but distant memories now.

Speaking to the press ahead of this match, Slot revealed a message of congratulations from the man whom he succeeded, the man who brought the title No. 19 and the Champions League trophy No. 6 to Anfield during his nine-year reign, Jurgen Klopp.

Team News

Slot also spoke about his plans for the team throughout the remainder of the season, revealing some degree of rotation would be employed.

However, Conor Bradley has suffered a minor setback after recovering from a long injury. He will train ahead of the game, but at this point, he doesn’t seem likely to start. With Joe Gomez ruled out, Trent Alexander-Arnold, reportedly on the verge of leaving the club, will have to put on his 66 shirt at least once more, unless Slot decides to put centre-back Jarell Quansah on the right defensive flank instead.

Elsewhere, the likes of Caoimhin Kelleher, Kostas Tsimikas, Wataru Endo, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Darwin Nunez will all be hoping to start.

Along with Gomez, the name of midfielder Tyler Morton is on the list of long-term absentees.

Conclusion

Chelsea have Liverpool a very difficult game at Anfield in October, with Slot naming them as the first team to have outplayed his this season in any competition, even though goals from Mohamed Salah (penalty) and Curtis Jones secured a 2-1 victory for the Reds on the day. Jackson was the man who scored the only goal for the London Blues.

Liverpool have enjoyed a magnificent league campaign indeed and their title is fully deserved. But now, it won’t be easy for them to focus and the fact that for Chelsea, the business is far from over, makes a third defeat of the season likely for Slot’s men.

Verdict: Home win

Best odds: 11/10

Bookmaker: ZetBet