{"id":6449,"date":"2026-05-09T12:40:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T12:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=6449"},"modified":"2026-05-09T12:40:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T12:40:06","slug":"liverpool-v-chelsea-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=6449","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool v CHELSEA: Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Date:<\/strong> Saturday 9th<\/sup>
\nMay 2026<\/p>\n

Venue<\/strong>: Anfield<\/p>\n

Kick-off:<\/strong> 12:30 BST<\/p>\n

Previewing Chelsea games these days feels
\na bit like reviewing the Titanic\u2019s menu after it hit the iceberg. What am I
\nsupposed to say? We\u2019ve turned losing into an art form\u2014if squandering points
\nwere an Olympic discipline, we\u2019d be taking home gold this season.<\/p>\n

Every game feels like rock bottom\u2014until the next one, when we bring
\na shovel. The Forest game was so bad, it was painful to watch. God only knows
\nwhat\u2019s happening in the players\u2019 heads. Maybe they\u2019re planning their summer
\nholidays already, but with performances like this, none of them look like the
\nWorld Cup should be in their travel plans. We did finally score\u2014cheers, Joao
\nPedro\u2014but by then, the stadium was emptier than our trophy cabinet this season.<\/p>\n

Liverpool, on the other hand, nearly snatched a point against
\nUnited\u2014if only VAR could spot a handball without requiring a post-match investigation.
\nThey\u2019re absolutely desperate for points as their Champions League spot awaits,
\nbut they\u2019ve bagged 10 out of the last 12 points available at Anfield, so they\u2019ll
\nbe confident enough of getting them. Yes, we\u2019ve beaten them twice recently, but
\nlet\u2019s not get carried away\u2014it was at Stamford Bridge, and Anfield is hardly a
\nwelcoming holiday destination for us.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re starting the day in 9th<\/sup> place\u2014 which is still
\nhigher than my optimism levels. I predicted we\u2019d end up 10th<\/sup>but
\nfrankly, that was just a moment of wild fantasy. Europe? Only if we\u2019re booking
\nflights for sightseeing, because football\u2019s not taking us there. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not kid ourselves\u2014we\u2019re not even pretending to play for pride
\nanymore.<\/p>\n

MANAGER\u2019S VIEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Going
\ninto today\u2019s game, Liverpool manager, Arne Slot, says \u201cUsually goes hand in
\nhand, good performance leads to results. The first and main aim is to qualify
\nfor the Champions League and we have shown this season we need a good
\nperformance to get results. The opposite has happened where we\u2019ve had good
\nperformances and not a good result, and we\u2019ve not often had a bad performance
\nand a good result. We usually need a good performance to win a game.<\/em><\/p>\n

If
\nthe information is correct, a few of their players that they\u2019ve been really
\nmissing have come back. So, it will probably be a stronger team than last week
\n\u2013 if the players that they say are back are back. That will be massive for
\nthem, as it is for any team. If you miss out on your best players, that\u2019s never
\nhelpful to get results. But it\u2019s always a difficult game for both teams because
\nthere\u2019s so much quality on both ends. So, it doesn\u2019t matter that much at the
\nmoment, I think, how much you lost or how much you won. It\u2019s a game between a
\nlot of very good individual players and let\u2019s hope we have a very good team
\nperformance as well because that usually helps individuals in being even
\nbetter.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Calum
\nMcFarlane, meanwhile, says \u201cWe\u2019ve spoken about what we have to improve from
\nthe previous game (against Nottingham Forest) and looked ahead to the next
\ngame. Liverpool are a really good side with a lot of threats that we have to be
\naware of. We also have a lot of good players, and we\u2019re just focusing on
\nourselves at the moment and making sure that our performance levels are at a
\nhigher level than what they have been.<\/em><\/p>\n

We\u2019re
\ngoing to have to make up for some of the players we\u2019re missing in different
\nways, and in the way that we shape the team up, but I don\u2019t want to go into too
\nmuch detail on that right now. What I do know is that we\u2019ve still got a lot of
\ngood players that can impact games.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

SQUAD NEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n

For Liverpool, Hugo Ekitike (Achilles), Conor
\nBradley, Giovanni Leoni (both knee) and Wataru Endo (ankle) are absent, whilst
\nthe game comes too soon for Alisson Becker (unspecified) and Mohamed Salah
\n(hamstring). Alexander Isak (groin) could return along with Giorgi
\nMamardashvili (knee). <\/p>\n

For Chelsea, Jamie Gittens (thigh), Jesse
\nDerry (head), Robert Sanchez (head), Estevao Willian (hamstring) are all
\ninjured. Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho are also unlikely to be back from
\ntheir knocks. Mykhaylo Mudryk continues to serve a 4-year ban pending appeal. <\/p>\n

TEAMS <\/strong><\/p>\n

LIVERPOOL (Possible line-up): Woodman; Jones, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Frimpong, Wirtz, Ngumoha; Gakpo<\/p>\n

CHELSEA (Possible line-up): Jorgensen; James, Colwill, Chalobah, Cucurella; Santos, Caicedo, Lavia; Fernandez; Pedro, Delap<\/p>\n

LAST SEASON<\/strong><\/p>\n

Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea (20th<\/sup>
\nOctober 2024)<\/p>\n

CURRENT FORM (PL)<\/strong><\/p>\n

LIVERPOOL: DLWWWL<\/p>\n

CHELSEA: LLLLLLL<\/p>\n

OTHER STUFF<\/strong><\/p>\n