Liverpool vs Chelsea Preview

Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off at Anfield brings together two clubs at very different junctures of their Premier League campaigns. Liverpool, locked in a battle to hold onto their top-four position, host a Chelsea side carrying the weight of four defeats from their last five outings and precious little momentum as the season enters its final weeks.

Liverpool head into this fixture with three wins and two defeats from their last five matches. Their most recent outing ended in a 3–2 defeat at Manchester United — a bruising setback that will have sharpened minds ahead of a home tie they will be expected to win. Prior to that, they had been in considerably better shape, beating Crystal Palace 3–1 at Anfield with something close to their best form. Before that came a hard-fought 2–1 win away at Everton, a result that spoke to their resilience when it matters. Earlier in this run, they suffered a 2–0 home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League knockout stage, a result that ended their European involvement. The sequence opened with a 2–0 home victory over Fulham. Despite the inconsistency, the Reds possess the individual quality to dismantle any opposition in the top flight, and Anfield — where their record has been a significant asset throughout the campaign — provides the ideal stage to respond.

Chelsea’s recent form makes for grim reading. Their most recent outing brought a 3–1 home defeat to Nottingham Forest, a performance that underlined the defensive fragility that has plagued them throughout this run. Prior to that, they had claimed a 1–0 home win over Leeds United in the FA Cup — their only victory in five. Before that came a 3–0 hammering away at Brighton. Earlier in this run they were beaten 1–0 at home by Manchester United and 3–0 at home by Manchester City. Nine goals conceded in those four Premier League outings represent a collective failure of organisation and concentration, and nothing in the Blues’ recent record suggests they will find it easy to defend at Anfield. A positive result here would do wonders for morale, but they arrive as heavy underdogs.

The head-to-head record across the last five meetings favours Liverpool, who have won three of those encounters, with Chelsea taking the other two and no draws recorded. Most recently, Chelsea secured a 2–1 home victory in October 2025. In the previous encounter, Chelsea had also prevailed at home — a 3–1 result in May 2025. Liverpool, however, hold a strong record in this fixture at Anfield, and the task facing Chelsea on the road is a considerably different proposition to winning at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool occupy fourth place in the Premier League on 58 points after 35 matches, level with Aston Villa in fifth — though the Reds’ goal difference of +12 keeps them above Villa, whose GD stands at +4. A win on Saturday would move them to 61 points with two fixtures remaining and would go a long way toward securing their Champions League place for next season. Third-placed Manchester United are on 64 — a six-point gap that is beyond realistic reach — but there is plenty of motivation to win and keep the pressure on. Chelsea sit ninth on 48 points, exactly ten points adrift of their hosts. Three points would take the Blues to 51 and level with Brentford in seventh; it would represent their best chance of ending the season with something to show for what has otherwise been a deeply disappointing campaign.

In the UK, the match is live on TNT Sports 1 and available to stream on HBO Max, with radio coverage on TalkSport. Viewers in the United States can catch the action on Peacock. The game is also available in Germany on Sky Sport Premier League, in France on Canal+ France, in Italy on Sky Sport Calcio, and in Australia on Stan Sport.

Lineups & Injuries

Liverpool (4-2-3-1) Woodman, Jones, Konaté, Dijk, Kerkez, Allister, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Gakpo, Frimpong

Liverpool: Bradley (Out), Leoni (Out), Endo (Out), Ekitiké (Out), Becker (Doubtful), Mamardashvili (Doubtful), Salah (Doubtful), Isak (Doubtful)

Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Jørgensen, Cucurella, Adarabioyo, Chalobah, Gusto, Caicedo, Lavia, Pedro, Fernández, Neto, Palmer

Chelsea: Estêvão (Out), Gittens (Out), Mudryk (Out), Neto (Doubtful), Sánchez (Doubtful), Derry (Doubtful), Garnacho (Doubtful)

Liverpool carry the heavier burden of significant absentees — the potential absence of Salah would remove their primary creative and goal threat, while the goalkeeping situation, with both Becker and Mamardashvili doubtful, explains Woodman’s inclusion from the start. Chelsea are severely depleted across their wide and attacking positions, with three forwards confirmed absent and further doubts over additional options in those areas; their attacking variety and pace on the break has been significantly reduced.

Liverpool Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
❌	Manchester United	3–2	Liverpool	English Premier League	May 3, 2026
✅	Liverpool	3–1	Crystal Palace	English Premier League	Apr 25, 2026
✅	Everton	1–2	Liverpool	English Premier League	Apr 19, 2026
❌	Liverpool	0–2	Paris Saint-Germain	Champions League	Apr 14, 2026
✅	Liverpool	2–0	Fulham	English Premier League	Apr 11, 2026

Chelsea Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
❌	Chelsea	1–3	Nottingham Forest	English Premier League	May 4, 2026
✅	Chelsea	1–0	Leeds United	English FA Cup	Apr 26, 2026
❌	Brighton & Hove Albion	3–0	Chelsea	English Premier League	Apr 21, 2026
❌	Chelsea	0–1	Manchester United	English Premier League	Apr 18, 2026
❌	Chelsea	0–3	Manchester City	English Premier League	Apr 12, 2026

Head to Head

Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
Chelsea	2–1	Liverpool	English Premier League	Oct 4, 2025
Chelsea	3–1	Liverpool	English Premier League	May 4, 2025
Liverpool	2–1	Chelsea	English Premier League	Oct 20, 2024
Chelsea	0–1	Liverpool	English Carabao Cup	Feb 25, 2024
Liverpool	4–1	Chelsea	English Premier League	Jan 31, 2024

TV Listings / Streaming

Country	Channel
United Kingdom	TNT Sports 1, HBO Max, TalkSport Radio UK
United States	Peacock, SiriusXM FC
Ireland	TNT Sports 1, HBO Max
Germany	Sky Sport Premier League
France	Canal+ France, Canal+ Foot
Italy	Sky Sport Calcio
Spain	DAZN Spain, DAZN1 Spain
Australia	Stan Sport
India	Star Sports Select HD1, JioHotstar
Canada	DAZN Canada

Premier League Table

Pos	Club	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Arsenal	35	23	7	5	67	26	41	76
2	Man City	34	21	8	5	69	32	37	71
3	Man United	35	18	10	7	63	48	15	64
4	Liverpool	35	17	7	11	59	47	12	58
5	Aston Villa	35	17	7	11	48	44	4	58
6	Bournemouth	35	12	16	7	55	52	3	52
7	Brentford	35	14	9	12	52	46	6	51
8	Brighton	35	13	11	11	49	42	7	50
9	Chelsea	35	13	9	13	54	48	6	48
10	Everton	35	13	9	13	44	44	0	48
11	Fulham	35	14	6	15	44	49	-5	48
12	Sunderland	35	12	11	12	37	46	-9	47
13	Newcastle	35	13	6	16	49	51	-2	45
14	Leeds	35	10	13	12	47	52	-5	43
15	Palace	34	11	10	13	36	42	-6	43
16	Nottm Forest	35	11	9	15	44	46	-2	42
17	Tottenham	35	9	10	16	45	54	-9	37
18	West Ham	35	9	9	17	42	61	-19	36
19	Burnley	35	4	8	23	35	71	-36	20
20	Wolves	35	3	9	23	25	63	-38	18