Liverpool V Chelsea Betting: English Premier League (Sky Sports)

Liverpool V Chelsea

Sunday, 2nd April – 13:30 (GMT)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports 1

So, what exactly is at stake here?

Well, right, should Liverpool pull the wool over Chelsea’s eyes at Anfield and beat the current leaders of the Premier League, at pretty attractive odds we must add, Manchester United would then go into the Premiership’s driving seat with just one fixture left to play. Considering Manchester United only have a game with Stoke City at Old Trafford, in front of what will be a buoyant and expectant home crowd, the title would be all but in United’s trophy cabinet barring a minor miracle from the Potters of Stoke.

1. Chelsea PLD:36  PTS:80  GD:61
2. Manchester United PLD:36  PTS:79  GD:53

However, this is when it gets tasty, as were Chelsea to win in the days early kick-off (13:30 LIVE on Sky Sports 1) then Carlo Ancelotti and his Blues could finish the day as Champions were Man Utd to slip up elsewhere at Sunderland, and by slip up we mean lose, a Draw would only suspend Chelsea’s celebrations, albeit temporarily as their superior goal difference would make the title theirs. Now that isn’t beyond the realms of possibility, as Chelsea have already beaten Liverpool this season and will be confident they have what it takes to beat the Reds for the second time this season. Sunderland, though, while it may seem a big ask, were the team which held United to a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford, with Patrice Evra’s shot deflecting in off Anton Ferdinand what saved United’s bacon that day, and with Sunderland having already beaten both Liverpool and Arsenal at home in the league this season, both via Darren Bent winners, anything is possible.

Liverpool

League Position: 7th
Recent Form: WDDWW
Motive: Fourth Place (Champions League)

Liverpool’s dreadful campaign hit a new low on Thursday, as Rafa’s Reds crashed out of the UEFA Europa League at the semi-final stage of the competition. To get so close and not make the final will have drastic effects on the Liverpool team, who after a disappointing and emotionally draining season, somehow how to try and dash Chelsea’s hopes of breaking United’s stranglehold over the Premiership. Will an underachieving and an understrength Liverpool play their part in in providing this intriguing race for the title with another twist?

Our answer to the above question would be no, as their loss in midweek is just too hard to ignore and doesn’t give the team enough time to full digest what has actually happened and nowhere near enough time to recover. This game with Chelsea will come too soon, and the scary thing is, Chelsea are strong favourites regardless, so the fact Liverpool have had a draining week, both physically and mentally, will only play into Chelsea’s hands further, and believe me, the Reds looked tired on Thursday.

Somehow Rafael Benitez needs to lift his troops in time for Sunday’s pivotal clash with Chelsea, as Benitez honestly feels a win would put his Reds right back in this race for fourth. We, as well as many other honest Liverpool fans, would say fourth is beyond them, and so why would Liverpool want to beat Chelsea on Sunday when they know that would play right into the hands of our bitter rivals, Manchester United. It’s a tricky situation for the Liverpool fans to be in, while the same could be said for two of Liverpool’s Merseyside born stars, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard. The latter has already expressed his desire to honour the race and not roll over, but surely Gerrard won’t want to see their bitter Northern rivals surpass their shared record of 18 league titles?

We can talk about player motives and just how devoted and determined the Liverpool players are to beating Chelsea, but in reality that shouldn’t even come into play. The Reds looked exhausted on Thursday, could barely spring a meaningful attack together during the extra 20 minutes of injury time they had to play while the face David N’Gog and Dirk Kuyt, Liverpool’s only two remaining strikers, are still recovering from knocks will mean Liverpool won’t just have a tired front line, they may not even have a recognised front line as Ryan Babel could perhaps deputise in the striking role. It’s all a bit of a calamity in fairness, but if Liverpool do spring a surprise by holding the Blues or better, it will be interesting to see how the locals react in the knowledge that Manchester United would then go top of the table and one game away from breaking records.

Chelsea

League Position: 1st
Recent Form: WWWLW
Motive: Championship

In a game which could decide which team ends the season with England’s most coveted trophy of them all the Barclay’s Premier League crown, Chelsea make the trip up to Merseyside knowing only a win will suffice against Champions League chasing Liverpool.

Carlo Ancelotti hasn’t even been at Stamford Bridge for a full season but could land two of England’s most prestigious trophies in his début campaign with Chelsea. The well renowned Italian has been an instant hit at the Bridge and is perhaps just 90 minutes away from lifting his first piece of silverware, and what a place to do so than at Anfield against a team which snatched the 2005 Champions League trophy from his grasp on that unbelievable night in Istanbul. We’re sure that night will live long in the memory for Ancelotti, for all the wrong reasons of course, but he could put his gremlins to bed with a victory at Anfield at a stadium where Chelsea haven’t faired too well at in recent visits, having not won at Liverpool’s atmospheric ground since 2005.

The Blues warmed up for this potentially league deciding fixture in idealistic fashion, smashing a usually water-tight Stoke City for seven at Stamford Bridge a week before this do or die clash with Liverpool. However, before Chelsea were in seventh heaven against a Stoke side with little to play for, Chelsea were down in the dumps after Tottenham Hotspur gave them a right good seeing to at White Hart Lane, a game Chelsea lost 2-1 in a scoreline which flattered Ancelotti’s Blues. John Terry was sent off for two bookable offences in that loss to Tottenham and missed the visit of Stoke on Sunday. The former England skipper but Chelsea captain, will return just in time for arguably his sides biggest game of the season. They do, of course, have an FA Cup final with Portsmouth just over the horizon, but that’s a final they should win fairly comfortably, while the league will have been their main priority at the start of the season anyway.

While Chelsea’s recent record at Anfield isn’t great; losing two and drawing one of their previous three Anfield encounters with Liverpool, Carlo Ancelotti has masterminded an immaculate record against ‘Big Four’ sides, recording victories over both Arsenal and Manchester United home and away, while Chelsea beat Liverpool in the early season fixture at Stamford Bridge. What that all means is Chelsea are another win away from completing a pretty historic set of victories over teams which, at the very start of the season were touted as Chelsea’s main rivals for the title. However, the pressure will really be on this time, the sort of pressure they were under when they paid Spurs a visit several weeks ago and came unstuck. The 7-0 mauling of Stoke last Sunday, with goals coming from Kalou X3, Lampard X2, Malouda and Sturrudge, should stand them in good stead however, while the confidence in the Chelsea dressing room will surely be sky-high after notching up their third seven goal haul of the season.

We very much doubt Chelsea will race to another seven goal massacre at Anfield, but the Reds will only have a few days to recover after their Europa League exertions and that will surely play straight into the hands of a fresh Chelsea team, raring to go ahead of this decisive fixture. Moreover, their opponents are facing a bit of an injury crisis in the forward department, so a resolute display at the back against Liverpool’s irregular forwards could be enough to land them all three points providing they keep their clinical boots on at the other end, continuing where they left off against Stoke City.

Match Verdict: Chelsea to WIN – 1.91 BetFred

While the commitment and motivation might not be there from a Liverpool point of view, Chelsea look the business regardless of whether or not Liverpool decide to turn up at Anfield. The Reds will have had just three days to come to terms with their Europa League loss while their exertions were massive after 120 minutes of gruelling action against a Spanish side which retain possession so well in the latter stages. Chelsea on the other hand were last seen seven days ago when thrashing Stoke City 7-0 at Stamford Bridge. They’ll be in rampant mood after that, and after enjoying a week off without any competitive action to worry themselves about, they’ll be fresh and raring to go on Sunday looking to compound Liverpool’s misery… And we think they’ll do it, with ease in fact.

Match Odds

Liverpool – 4.50 SkyBet
Draw – 3.80 Bet365
Chelsea – 1.91 BetFred

SoccerBetting Value Pick: Steven Gerrard & Frank Lampard Both to Score – 10.00 SkyBet