21 Jan 2023 | K.O 7:30 AM ET Canada-USA
Ref: Michael Oliver (England)
Stadium: Anfield
A weekend of highly interesting Premier League matches awaits, starting with a clash of the season’s arguably greatest underachievers, the last two English teams to have won the Champions League when Liverpool host Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday. Both sides obviously have a lot of lost ground to makeup and a big point to prove.
Liverpool
Having missed out on the Premier League title by a single point last season, as well as finishing the Champions League campaign with a defeat to Real Madrid in the final, and all that on top of lifting both domestic cups in England, Liverpool’s drop-off this term has been especially painful for their supporters.
Their ability to avoid conceding big chances has particularly fallen off the cliff, along with the ability to convert big chances of their own at the other end, and the ability win duels in the middle of the park. These things have obviously caused them to lose or draw some matches that they really should’ve won, given the amount of quality in their ranks.
A major overhaul of the midfield section is expected to happen at the end of the season, with Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain set to leave as free agents, and with heavy links with the likes of Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Matheus Nunes appearing daily in the press. Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and Benfica’s Enzo Fernandez have been mentioned as well.
Chelsea
While it’s quite obvious that a lack of fresh legs in the squad is giving Klopp serious issues this season, it’s simply not the case at Chelsea. Since their owners changed in the spring last year, they’ve signed a host of new players on which they’ve spent close to €400 million so far. Their latest activities include signing winger Mykhaylo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk for €100m, reportedly agreeing a deal for PSV Eindhoven winger Noni Madueke, and strongly pursuing Brighton’s Caicedo to strengthen the midfield.
Manager Graham Potter, who joined the club earlier this season from Brighton, has a host of options at his disposal, but it will likely prove a great challenge to keep all those players happy and such a number of incoming transfers in a short span might cause contempt among those already at the club, particularly those who remain from the team that won the 2021 Champions League.
Transfers aside, not much has gone right for Chelsea this season either. They’re actually sitting (directly) below Liverpool, with the same number of points but with one game played more. At this point, you could probably say that their prospects towards the end of the season and participation in the European competitions next term appear about the same as those of Liverpool, and it remains to be seen what each of the two teams does between now and May.
Chelsea will have a slightly easier task in the Champions League round of 16 next month, facing Borussia Dortmund in Germany first on February 15th and the rematch being played at Stamford Bridge three weeks later.
Live: Liverpool vs Chelsea | Premier League
21 Jan 2023 | K.O 7:30 AM ET Canada-USA
