Liverpool host Chelsea at Anfield hoping to maintain their spot at the top of the Premier League table. Arne Slot has had a fantastic start to his tenure as Liverpool manager with six wins from his first seven top-flight outing.
The Reds came into the weekend with a slender lead over Manchester City and Arsenal though the Gunners failed to capitalise when they slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday evening.
Liverpool’s last outing was a 1-0 away win at Crystal Palace and Slot will hope that his players have had sufficient recovery time over the international break ahead of what is undoubtedly the biggest test the Reds have faced yet with Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea flying in the league.
The former Leicester City manager has settled nicely at Stamford Bridge steering the Blues to four wins from their seven matches and beating Liverpool will be his biggest statement so far. The hosts ran away 4-1 winners in the same fixture last season so Chelsea have their work cut out this afternoon.
Follow all the Premier League action with our live blog below:
Liverpool vs Chelsea LIVE
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Liverpool host Chelsea in the Premier League
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Reds come into weekend top of the table with six wins from seven
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Chelsea have made a strong start to life under Enzo Maresca and hope for statement win at Anfield
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Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Jota, Gakpo
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Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James, Tosin, Colwill, Gusto; Lavia, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson
Liverpool FC 0 – 0 Chelsea FC
Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
16:46 , Chris Wilson
13 mins
No chances yet for either side. Chelsea are happy to work the ball across the pitch, before Madueke beats Robertson down the right. His cross is too powerful though.
Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
16:45 , Chris Wilson
12 mins
Sanchez plays a brilliant ball 80-odd yards up the pitch right into the path of Sancho. The winger lays it off to Gusto, but he blasts a shot well wide.
Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
16:43 , Chris Wilson
10 mins
Liverpool are pressing high and it’s won them the ball a couple of times, the latest being after Sanchez is forced to kick long and Madueke can’t control it.
In contrast, Chelsea aren’t pressing anywhere near as high. The home side enjoy a bit of possession in their own half and near their box, but there’s not a lot happening right now.
Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
16:40 , Chris Wilson
7 mins
Home fans are screaming for a red card as the long ball is played over the top and Jota tries to run free, only to be dragged down by Tosin.
It’s a similar situation to Saliba’s red card yesterday, but the referee only gives Tosin a yellow. Colwill was close by to latch on, so that’s probably saved him.
Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
16:38 , Chris Wilson
6 mins
James and Lavia combine well on the edge of the Chelsea box, the former winning the ball in the tackle before the Belgian skips past another challenge.
The away side attack but Sancho is stopped easily by Gravenberch.
Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
16:37 , Chris Wilson
5 mins
Jones does well to skip past both Caicedo and Palmer in midfield, and Liverpool have an attacking opportunity that ends with Salah firing at Colwill’s hand. Shouts for a free-kick, but nothing given.
Caicedo is down after landing off-balance after that challenge on Jones, but he’s trying to run it off for now.
Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
16:35 , Chris Wilson
3 mins
Great play from Lavia to sell the dummy and skip away from the challenge to get Chelsea out of a tight position. The away side attack but James’ early cross is headed clear by Konate.
Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
16:34 , Chris Wilson
2 mins
A few exchanges of possession as both sides look to settle early on.
Tosin gives away possession near his own box but Liverpool recycle possession back to van Dijk.
KICK-OFF! Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
16:32 , Chris Wilson
KICK-OFF!
The away get us underway on Merseyside.
Liverpool vs Chelsea LIVE
16:28 , Chris Wilson
Richard Jolly at Anfield:
“Arne Slot may have learnt the lesson of Liverpool’s defeat to Nottingham Forest by benching their three South Americans today for the first game after an international break – though Alexis Mac Allister, who felt ill on the plane back from representing Argentina, was not ready to start anyway. For Chelsea, Reece James’ first start of the season means there will be a focus on the injury-hit captain in a suspension-hit defence.”
Liverpool vs Chelsea LIVE
16:25 , Chris Wilson
The teams are in the tunnel at Anfield, so we’re only moments from kick-off.
Match facts
16:23 , Chris Wilson
Chelsea have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games against Liverpool (drawing five and losing three.
Along with Liverpool, Chelsea are one of two sides with a 100% away win rate in the Premier League this season.
Only Manchester City (17) have scored more goals than Chelsea (16) in the division this term, and only Tottenham boast a higher xG (15.0) than the Blues (14.7).
Enzo Maresca is looking to become only the fifth manager to win each of his first four away Premier League games, with one of the previous four to do so being his counterpart in this match, Liverpool’s Arne Slot.
Chelsea pair Cole Palmer (11) and Noni Madueke (4) have created 15 chances for each other in the Premier League this season, the most of any duo.
Match facts
16:18 , Chris Wilson
Liverpool are unbeaten in their last six Premier League meetings with Chelsea, though five of these have ended level. Having lost three consecutive league games against Chelsea between 2013 and 2014, the Reds have now lost just two of their last 19, winging seven and drawing 10.
Liverpool have conceded the fewest goals (two), kept the most clean sheets (five), and have the lowest expected goals against figure (5.2) of any side in the Premier League this season.
Mohamed Salah has four goals in 13 Premier League games against his former side, averaging a goal every 257 minutes against the Blues. He only has a worse minutes-per-goal rate against Burnley.
Is Liverpool v Chelsea on TV?
16:15 , Chris Wilson
A reminder of how you can watch the late-afternoon match today – we’re around 15 minutes from kick-off.
Liverpool vs Chelsea is due to kick off at 4:30pm BST on Sunday 20 October at Anfield.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage on these channels beginning at 4pm. Subscribers can stream the action on Sky Go or Now TV.
What the managers have said
16:10 , Chris Wilson
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said that today’s match “is a special game for all of the clubs”.
“Liverpool is a nice environment, fantastic. We are excited to play this kind of game. All the games we have played until now have not been easy. We are going to do our best.
“I don’t think Sunday’s game defines where we are. In this moment, we have to be focused on things we need to improve.
“We have Liverpool and then two or three more games. Nottingham wasn’t an easy game, or Brighton, West Ham away or Bournemouth away.
“[The] Premier League is the best league in the world and the toughest league in the world,” he added.
When asked on how he feels about his club’s start to the season, the Italian said: “[I’m] very happy because what I expected in terms of players, level and style, I can see clearly that is there.
“It doesn’t matter in this moment who is going to play, you can see clearly how we want to play.”
What the managers have said
16:05 , Chris Wilson
Speaking in a press conference ahead of today’s game, Arne Slot said that he is “looking forward to a very interesting game”.
“Chelsea does really well. If you look at the league table then they are the ones that might be our toughest opponent.
“But it’s not always about the league table. Sometimes it’s about the form of the day, it’s about their game plan.
“We had some difficulty with Wolves as well, who are bottom of the league, I think. But it is a challenge, that’s for sure,” he added.
When speaking about Liverpool’s tough run of upcoming fixtures, he said: “I think we have to judge us as a team after this spell of games – not three of them but six, seven or eight of them.
“Then we know better how we act and how we perform if we play tough Champions League games and tough league games.
“That is normal in everybody’s season and we know how difficult it is.”
Conor Bradley has fond memories of Liverpool’s ‘special’ games with Chelsea
16:00 , Chris Wilson
Liverpool’s clash with Chelsea on Sunday will bring back special memories for Conor Bradley.
Fresh from captaining Northern Ireland in Tuesday’s 5-0 rout of Bulgaria in Belfast, the 21-year-old has returned to the club’s Kirkby training ground with a spring in his step before their next Premier League match.
Taking the armband for his country was just the latest step in Bradley’s outstanding 2024, and two meetings with Chelsea feature prominently in that story.
The first came on January 31 in a 4-1 win over the Londoners at Anfield, as Bradley got his first Liverpool goal and added two assists in a man-of-the-match display.
Conor Bradley has fond memories of Liverpool’s ‘special’ games with Chelsea
Arne Slot confident uncertainty over future of key Liverpool trio will not prove a distraction
15:55 , Chris Wilson
Arne Slot insisted he will be involved in contract talks with Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah by saying it would be “weird” if he was not consulted and shrugging off suggestions the right-back would be distracted as Real Madrid’s interest in him has become more public.
Liverpool’s captain, vice-captain and top scorer are all out of contract at the end of the season but Slot is adamant it is not an issue for him and he would only be worried if he reached the last day of the campaign with their futures still up in the air.
The Dutchman is Liverpool’s first head coach – predecessor Jurgen Klopp’s job title was manager and he had more control, albeit without getting his way when he wanted to keep Roberto Firmino and James Milner in 2023 – meaning sporting director Richard Hughes will assume overall responsibility for talks with the three key players. Slot confirmed, though, that he will play a part in discussions.
Arne Slot confident uncertainty over future of key trio will not prove a distraction
Chelsea cannot rely on Cole Palmer to solve all problems – Enzo Maresca
15:50 , Chris Wilson
Enzo Maresca warned his Chelsea players they cannot rely on Cole Palmer to “solve all our problems” as they prepare for a gruelling run of Premier League fixtures, beginning with Sunday’s meeting with Liverpool.
Following the game at Anfield, in which the head coach will be without suspended pair Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana in defence, the Blues play Newcastle at home before travelling to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.
Arsenal then visit Stamford Bridge to round off a three-week spell in which the potential in evidence during Maresca’s first seven games will receive a thorough inspection, with the team’s top-four credentials put to the test.
Chelsea cannot rely on Cole Palmer to solve all problems – Enzo Maresca
Liverpool vs Chelsea head-to-head
15:45 , Chris Wilson
These two sides have met a total of 190 times, with meetings dating back to Christmas Day in 1907.
As ist stands, Liverpool have won 90, with Chelsea winning 61. 49 have ended as draws.
As alluded to earlier, the two teams have had a range of high-profile meetings, from Champions League semi-finals to last season’s Carabao cup final, which Liverpool won 1-0.
In the league last season, the two sides drew 1-1 at Stamford Bridge in their league opener, while Liverpool won the return fixture 4-1 in January.
What Liverpool’s brutal seven-game run will reveal about their season under Arne Slot
15:40 , Chris Wilson
The best beginning to a reign made by any Liverpool manager is only a start. Arne Slot has found ways of deflecting the compliments his immediate impact at Anfield has generated. He has referenced the reality that some of his predecessors’ medal collections are sufficiently impressive that they do not need to be judged by their first 10 games or an early-season status as league leaders. He has cited the relatively kind fixture list: Liverpool have played the teams currently occupying 17th, 11th, 14th, 10th, 13th, 20th and 18th places. Their Carabao Cup win was against the club in 12th. Their Champions League victories were against the sides sitting sixth and 13th respectively in Serie A.
And now it gets harder. Liverpool’s next month amounts to a barometer of their prospects, a test of whether they are title challengers, potential Champions League winners, able to retain the Carabao Cup that proved Jurgen Klopp’s last trophy. It is Chelsea, RB Leipzig, Arsenal, Brighton, Brighton again, Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa, a seven-game stretch that could derail Liverpool’s ambitions or serve as a springboard to a challenge on multiple fronts.
For Slot, it amounts to a voyage of discovery. Have his first 10 games given him a clear idea of what Liverpool can achieve or is he still trying to find out himself?
What Liverpool’s brutal seven-game run will reveal about their season
Liverpool v Chelsea – the tale of a recent English ‘rivalry’
15:35 , Chris Wilson
Around 220 miles separate Anfield and Stamford Bridge, but despite the distance between theses two clubs, they have played out one of English football’s most intriguing rivalries since the early 2000s.
By the time Roman Abramovich took over the Blues in 2003, the historic gap between the two clubs had closed, with Liverpool remaining a force despite their inability to challenge for titles. But the Blues soon took them over, with the hiring of Jose Mourinho kickstarting a golden era.
And (despite a 3-2 Chelsea win in that year’s League Cup final) the rivalry between the two clubs can perhaps be traced to a match that was key in one of Liverpool’s most famous successes – their 2005 Champions League win.
Luis Garcia’s ghost goal at Anfield in the second leg of the semi-final won the tie for the Reds, and marked the first in a run of high-octane, high quality matches between the two sides, including another Liverpool win (this one on penalties) in the Champions League semi-finals in 2006/07, a 4-3 aggregate win for Chelsea in the 2007/08 semi-finals and a 7-5 aggregate win (including a 4-4 at Stamford Bridge) for Chelsea in the 2008/09 quarter-finals.
Since 2003, the two clubs have also met in two FA Cup finals and three League Cup finals.
Will Liverpool beat the Blues?
15:30 , Mike Jones
Liverpool are seeking a third successive win over Chelsea in all competitions for the first time since November 2011, when they recorded a sequence of four.
Victory this weekend would also see Liverpool record a 50th Anfield success over Chelsea in league football, while their next goal will be their 250th in all league encounters against the Londoners.
Liverpool vs Chelsea team changes
15:25 , Mike Jones
Arne Slot makes three changes to the Liverpool team that defeated Crystal Palace 1-0 in their final match before the international break.
Alisson is injured so Caoimhin Kelleher will be in goal while Andy Robertson takes up his place at left-back ahead of Kostas Tsimikas. Further up the pitch, Alexis Mac Allister is replaced with Dominik Szoboszlai.
For Chelsea, the big news is that captain and right-back Reece James returns! The defender has recovered from a long-term injury to take his place in the starting line-up.
Elsewhere, Enzo Fernandez, Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella drop out with Tosin Adarabioyo and Romeo Lavia brought back in.
Liverpool vs Chelsea line-ups
15:15 , Mike Jones
Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Jota, Gakpo
Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James, Tosin, Colwill, Gusto; Lavia, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson
Team news
15:10 , Chris Wilson
A reminder of the early team news – we’re around five minutes away from knowing the line-ups.
Liverpool will be without Alisson, while Harvey Elliott continues to recover from a fractured foot. Federico Chiesa could be available after recovering from an unspecified injury which ruled him out of Italy’s internationals.
Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana are suspended, though Reece James is back in training after a period out with a hamstring injury.
Reece James injury latest after Enzo Maresca provides update on Chelsea star’s return
15:00 , Chris Wilson
Reece James is fit to return for Chelsea against Liverpool after his latest injury with Enzo Maresca revealing a new plan to ensure the right-back remains fit.
James has not featured for the Blues this season after sustaining another hamstring issue.
But after training with the group over the international break, Maresca can call on the 24-year-old for the trip to Anfield.
Chelsea handed boost as Enzo Maresca provides Reece James injury update
Liverpool vs Chelsea team news: Alisson injury blow for Reds as Reece James nears Blues return
14:55 , Chris Wilson
Chelsea travel to face Liverpool as Premier League football returns following the international break, but the Reds have been handed an injury blow ahead of the weekend.
Alisson is set to remain on the sidelines for the clash against Chelsea after sustaining a hamstring injury against Crystal Palace.
Caoimhin Kelleher will deputise in goal, with Arne Slot confirming the Brazil remains out for a “couple of weeks” due to the problem.
Reece James has trained over the international break and will be in the squad on Sunday, while Maresca must contend without suspended duo Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella.
Liverpool vs Chelsea team news: Alisson injury blow for Reds as James nears return
Predicted line-ups
14:50 , Chris Wilson
Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Jota, Diaz
Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Veiga; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson
Team news
14:45 , Chris Wilson
Marc Cucurella is suspended, meaning the versatile Renato Veiga could fill in at left-back. Reece James is back in training after a period out with a hamstring injury but will likely start from the bench.
Wesley Fofana is out due to a one-game suspension, meaning Tosin Adarabioyo could deputise.
Team news
14:40 , Chris Wilson
Arne Slot must contend without the injured Alisson Becker between the sticks, meaning another chance for Caoimhin Kelleher.
Harvey Elliott continues to recover from a fractured foot and while this game comes too soon, a return in the near future is possible. Federico Chiesa could be available after recovering from an unspecified injury which ruled him out of Italy’s internationals.
Is Liverpool v Chelsea on TV?
14:35 , Chris Wilson
Liverpool vs Chelsea is due to kick off at 4:30pm BST on Sunday 20 October at Anfield.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage on these channels beginning at 4pm. Subscribers can stream the action on Sky Go or Now TV.
Is Liverpool vs Chelsea on TV today? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch
Liverpool vs Chelsea LIVE
14:30 , Chris Wilson
Liverpool host Chelsea later today looking to end the weekend on top of the Premier League.
Arne Slot goes head-to-head with Enzo Maresca in a fascinating battle at Anfield between two form teams.
The Reds entered the weekend with a slender lead over title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal, after grinding out a win at Crystal Palacebefore the break, while the Blues will look to build on a promising start under their new manager.
The hosts ran away 4-1 winners in the same fixture last season, with Diogo Jota, Conor Bradley, Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz on the scoresheet, with only Christopher Nkunku in reply for the visitors.
Good afternoon!
11:15 , Mike Jones
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of today’s Premier League action with Liverpool taking on Chelsea in a blockbuster clash at Anfield.
The Reds came into the weekend top of the table and will remain above Manchester City if they pick up all three points. Chelsea pose a significant threat and kick off a run of testing fixtures that will give a clearer insight into how Arne Slot’s team are performing.
For the Blues, Enzo Marseca has instilled a swagger and attacking verve to the team since taking over in the summer and they will be quietly confident of securing a positive result in Merseyside.
We’ll have all the updates, team news and more throughout the day so stick with us as we build up to kick off at 4.30pm.
Read the full article here
