Liverpool vs Chelsea – News and Probable Lineups

After failing to secure their Champions League spot at Old Trafford, Liverpool has the opportunity to confirm a top-five finish in the Premier League when they face Chelsea in the early match on Saturday at Anfield.

The defending champions’ winning run was halted with a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Manchester United last weekend, just as Chelsea suffered a 3-1 loss at home to Nottingham Forest, marking their sixth consecutive defeat in the top division.

Match overview

In a scenario where either Manchester United or Liverpool could have booked their Champions League place, it was the Red Devils who emerged victorious in this significant fixture in English football, despite nearly causing their own downfall.

Arne Slot’s team took advantage of defensive mistakes from Michael Carrick’s side to come back from a 2-0 deficit, but their resurgence was short-lived, as Kobbie Mainoo netted an exquisite winner 13 minutes before the final whistle.

A frustrated Slot did not hold back when addressing the Benjamin Sesko handball incident at full time, but the beleaguered Dutchman could not reasonably argue that Liverpool deserved even a share of the points, given their 0.89 Expected Goals compared to Manchester United’s 2.34.

The end of Liverpool’s three-match winning streak has prompted renewed calls for the manager’s exit, but if this season is to be Slot’s last, he should not depart without guiding the Reds back into Europe’s elite competition.

Currently fourth in the Premier League with 58 points – six ahead of Bournemouth and seven above Brentford – Liverpool will qualify for the 2026-27 Champions League if they defeat Chelsea and Bournemouth fail to gain points against Fulham.

The Reds can look to a strong home record at Anfield as they pursue that objective, having secured 10 points from the last 12 available in Premier League fixtures at home, although they have managed just one clean sheet in the past seven matches.

Similarly, clean sheets have largely eluded Chelsea in the Premier League lately, as has gaining points, with the Blues arriving in Merseyside as the team in the worst form in the league.

In the past six Premier League matchdays, only one club has failed to earn any points from 18 possible; Newcastle United, Everton, Manchester City, Manchester United, Brighton & Hove Albion, and most recently Nottingham Forest have each triumphed over the Club World Cup champions, effectively extinguishing any faint hopes of breaking into the top five.

Calum McFarlane’s team did manage to end a five-match goalless streak against Forest on Monday, but Joao Pedro’s effort in the 93rd minute at a half-empty Stamford Bridge barely qualified as consolation, as Taiwo Awoniyi (2) and Igor Jesus had already secured victory for a significantly altered Garibaldi side.

Currently sitting ninth in the table, the Blues are mathematically out of the race for the top five, trailing Aston Villa by 10 points with three matches left; however, they are merely four points shy of Bournemouth in sixth, which could be sufficient for UCL qualification if Villa finishes in the top five and triumphs in the Europa League.

The dire form of the Blues does not reflect a side deserving of a place in Europe’s top flight, and they now risk enduring seven straight league losses for only the second time in history, having previously experienced such a sequence in 1952.

Chelsea did manage to defeat Liverpool twice at Stamford Bridge in 2025, most recently winning 2-1 in October, but the Reds have triumphed in their last two confrontations at Anfield, including last season’s victory inspired by Mohamed Salah by the same scoreline.

Team News

Already without long-term casualty Hugo Ekitike due to an Achilles injury, Liverpool also faces the disappointing loss of striker Alexander Isak to a minor groin issue ahead of the trip to Old Trafford, which may heal in time for the weekend.

As of now, Isak remains uncertain along with Florian Wirtz and Ibrahima Konate – both of whom did not train on Wednesday for unspecified reasons – in addition to Alisson Becker (unspecified) and Giorgi Mamardashvili (knee).

Mohamed Salah (thigh), Wataru Endo (ankle), Giovanni Leoni (knee), and Conor Bradley (knee) are certainly ruled out for the champions, who may turn to Joe Gomez and Rio Ngumoha if neither Wirtz nor Konate are fit.

In Chelsea’s camp, the loss to Forest was overshadowed by a distressing head injury to teenage forward Jesse Derry, who was stretchered off to warm applause from both sets of supporters following his encounter with Zach Abbott.

The Derry-Abbott incident was one of two head collisions at Stamford Bridge, where Robert Sanchez and Morgan Gibbs-White also clashed, meaning that Filip Jorgensen might be needed in goal in Sanchez’s absence.

McFarlane is at least optimistic about having attacking players Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho, and Jamie Gittens available for selection this weekend, but Estevao Willian (thigh) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (doping ban) will not feature.

Liverpool probable starting XI:

Woodman; Jones, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Frimpong, Wirtz, Ngumoha; Gakpo

Chelsea probable starting XI:

Jorgensen; James, Colwill, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Santos; Palmer, Fernandez, Neto; Pedro

Liverpool has its challenges, but Chelsea’s Premier League campaign is concluding in a disastrous manner, and McFarlane’s team could revert to a scoring drought on Saturday.

Considering the fitness concerns for the hosts, a classic encounter seems unlikely, but Slot’s side has scored multiple goals in four of their last five matches and may only require one to secure their place in the Champions League.