by Ian S. Palmer
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The biggest game of English Premier League week 11 action is undoubtedly the clash between reigning champions Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in London on Saturday, October 31. Chelsea has been struggling in all competitions this season while Liverpool recently won their first game with new manager Jurgen Klopp in charge. Chelsea enters the game after being knocked out of the fourth round of the English League Cup on Tuesday after Stoke City beat them at home in a penalty shootout. Liverpool fared better as they edged fellow Premier League side Bournemouth 1-0 at Anfield.
Chelsea vs Liverpool – bet365 Soccer BETTING LINE:
- bet365 currently lists Chelsea as the favorites at 21/20 with Liverpool 13/5 and a draw at 5/2
Chelsea vs Liverpool – Head to Head
- These two sides met four times last year in all competitions and Liverpool couldn’t manage a win. Chelsea has an eight-game undefeated string going against the Reds with four wins and four draws in all competitions and have three wins and three draws in the past half dozen league meetings. Chelsea won 1-0 at home and drew 1-1 away in the League Cup and won 2-1 away and drew 1-1 at home in league action. The teams have met 173 times in the past with Liverpool winning 75, losing 61 and drawing the other 37.
The pressure is mounting on Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho as his side sits in 15th place in the 20-team Premier League with a record of three wins, two draws and five losses for 11 points. They’ve scored 15 goals and allowed 19 against. Liverpool enters the weekend in ninth position with 14 points on three victories, five draws and two defeats. They’ve scored nine times and conceded 11. Even though Chelsea is off to their worst start in Premier League history, they’re just three points behind the Reds.
Chelsea has two wins, a draw and two losses at home in league play this campaign with eight goals for and seven against. They’ve won just once in their past seven outings in all competitions and that was against last-place Aston Villa. However, they’ve won three of their past four encounters at home in all competitions with three clean sheets with the other being a 3-1 loss to Southampton. Mourinho will likely be without defender Branislav Ivanovic again for this game, but Diego Costa and Pedro may be healthy enough to suit up. In addition, Nemanja Matic returns after serving a suspension.
Liverpool’s problem has been a lack of goalscoring and that’s mainly because Belgian international striker Christian Benteke and his English international counterpart Daniel Sturridge are both injury prone and are rarely available to play. To make matters worse, English striker Danny Ings is lout for the season with a torn ACL. Liverpool drops too many points by drawing games. They’ve tied five times so far this season, but are just eight points behind league-leading Manchester City. The Reds have one win, three draws and a loss on the road in 2015/16 with three goals scored and four allowed.
Liverpool has drawn eight of their past nine contests in all competitions, but they’re now unbeaten in their past 10 fixtures since Manchester United beat them 3-1 at Old Trafford. Liverpool has three straight draws on the road and four in their past five away. Klopp will also be without Joe Gomez and midfielder Jordan Henderson, but defender Kolo Toure and Benteke may be back in time.