Chelsea will be hoping to climb the table when they travel to face Liverpool on Saturday at 12:30pm.
The Blues are currently ninth in the Premier League and face an uphill battle to qualify for European football next season.
Chelsea predicted line-up vs Liverpool
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Jorgensen; James, Adarabioyo, Chalobah, Cucurella; Lavia, Caicedo; Palmer, Fernandez, Neto; Pedro.
Calum McFarlane’s men have lost their past six league games, their worst run since going six without defeat in 1993. The Blues have only lost seven consecutive league matches once in their history, doing so in 1952.
But they’re not in a good run of form away from home against Liverpool. Chelsea have won just one of their past 10 Premier League trips to Anfield, beating the Reds 1-0 in March 2021.
Chelsea team news vs Liverpool
The defeat to Nottingham Forest on Monday was bad for Chelsea in more ways than one. Both Jesse Derry and Robert Sanchez had to come off with head injuries, and will miss this match. Sanchez was replaced by Filip Jorgensen in goal, and is the easy switch.
Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto both missed the match having picked up knocks, and are expected to be available this weekend. Neto is likely to return to the starting XI, ahead of Derry. He’ll join Enzo Fernandez, Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro in the Chelsea attack.
With Enzo Fernandez further forward, Romeo Lavia is the likely partner for Moises Caicedo in the double pivot. Andrey Santos is another option, but he remains out of favour even with the new man in charge.
Dabble sign-up offer: Bet £10+ & Receive £10 In Free Bets
Not signed up to Dabble yet? Here's how to claim the Bet £10+ & Receive £10 In Free Bets welcome offer:
- Sign up to Dabble through this link
- Register your account with accurate personal details
- Place your first bet of £10 or more
- Receive your £10 in free bets when your qualifying bet has setted
- Use your Free Bet on any eligible sportsbook market within 7 days
#AD 18+ 7-day free bet expiry. Stake not returned. Promotional Terms Apply. GambleAware.org
Tosin Adarabioyo is likely to play alongside Trevoh Chalobah at the heart of the Chelsea defence. Levi Colwill made his return from an ACL injury on Monday but won’t be rushed into the starting XI any time soon.
Marc Cucurella has the left-back spot locked down, but Reece James could return at right-back ahead of Malo Gusto. The Chelsea captain was an unused substitute last time out, having returned from a hamstring injury.
Estevao remains out for the rest of the season, while Jamie Gittens is also a doubt further forward.
Chelsea’s defensive woes
Chelsea have a lot of problems at both ends of the pitch. They ended a five-game run of failing to score last time out, with their first Premier League goal for two months.
But the worries at the back continued. Chelsea are now 13 league games without a clean sheet, since a 2-0 win over Brentford in Liam Rosenior’s first game in charge. That is also Chelsea’s only league clean sheet in 19 matches.
During that run of 13 games without a clean sheet, Chelsea have conceded 24 goals. That includes conceding at least three in four of their past five games.
They’ve faced 132 shots with 67 hitting the target, and conceded 18.12 Expected Goals. Just under a quarter of that (4.12) has come from set-pieces, which have been a real problem for Chelsea.
Opposition finishing has been key too. The 18.12 xGC jumps to 23.02 post-shot xG conceded, so opponents are improving their chances of scoring by their shot placement. Of course, Chelsea are still conceding more than they should, but it’s a lower 0.98 difference.