Chelsea vs Liverpool – Back the Blues to close in on Man Utd
Published:An incredible Saturday in the Premier League has given Chelsea and Liverpool plenty to play for in their Super Sunday clash. Manchester United’s loss to Wolves has given the champions renewed hope of retaining the title, while Liverpool will climb to sixth with three points.
Match odds
Liverpool are one of only four teams to have beaten Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the last seven Premier League seasons and like their hosts head into this encounter on a run of three straight league victories, indicating that they could be overpriced at 9/2 to make it four.
However, the taking down of the Christmas decorations appears to have coincided with a turnaround in Chelsea’s form and they have now gone five games without defeat in all competitions, their 4-2 triumph at Sunderland on Tuesday the most impressive of the lot.
Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou were among the scorers at the Stadium of Light, so there were already plenty of reasons for Liverpool to fear the title holders’ attack, without having to worry about them former Reds striker Fernando Torres being added to the daunting mix.
Chelsea are just 8/13 to celebrate their new Spanish star’s debut with a win which would be their third in four meetings with Liverpool – who have lost six in a row away to top-four sides – and the draw is 11/4, though none of their last five league collisions have finished level.
Total goals
The big question everyone is asking is will Torres score against his former club and this is certainly a fixture he enjoys, having netted seven times in it before, grabbing the opener on four occasions. He also struck in his first appearance at Anfield after signing there.
The 26-year-old is 7/2 to grab the opener but perhaps the 11/10 for him to score at any time is the better option given the possibility of him starting on the bench. If you fancy one of Liverpool’s returnees to net then Joe Cole is 4/1 and Glen Johnson 8/1.
Ten successive Chelsea versus Liverpool league ties have had under 2.5 goals (8/11) with only one team getting on the scoresheet in the last five (10/11). The last four have all finished 2-0 so back Chelsea to keep a clean sheet at 11/10 and win by that scoreline at 6/1.
A £25 stake on the champions winning 2-0 would provide a £150 profit. New customers can free £25 bet for a free £25 bet.
