Overview
Gameweek 1 has provided us with a lovely ‘Top 6’ clash between two teams that last season were way below everyone’s expectations.
Chelsea finishing in the bottom half of the table is something that just shouldn’t happen for a club who spent over £300m on transfers last campaign. There was major distrupution with managers throughout the season but with new manager Mauricio Pochettino now at the helm, he will hopefully provide stability and a style of football that will see Chelsea challenge the Top 4 this season.
As for Liverpool, a 5th place finish was well below expectations of Liverpool fans who have been used to be being Manchester City’s biggest threat to the league title for the last 5 years.
What Do The Stats Say?
Goals have never been an issue for Liverpool, finishing the 3rd highest scorers in the league last season, scoring 75, an average of 1.97 goals per game. It was their defensive issues that cost them dearly. Although, Alisson managed 14 clean sheets (2nd highest behind De Gea) they conceded too many silly goals that cost them points throughout the campaign.
Both teams conceded 47 times but Chelsea only managed 38 goals nearly half the amount of Liverpool. Chelsea only managed to collect 25 points at Stamford Bridge last season the 5th worst in the league. 46 goals were scored in front of a home crowd at Anfield with only 29 coming on the road – while conceding 30!
A looks like a 0-0 game based on these stats!
Head to Head
Recent meetings has shown this too, with the last 4 games finishing 0-0 between these two in all competitions! Domestically, it has been 4 draws on the bounce with only 2 of those seeing both sides score.
Chelsea have only beaten Liverpool once in their last 9 attempts with their last win over the reds at Stamford Bridge dating back to March 2020!
Player to Watch
There is an abundance of talent on display in this one but the obvious one is Liverpool forward Mohammed Salah. The lowest scoring record for the Egyptian is 19 goals since his arrival in 2017.
His record against Chelsea stands at 17 games played winning 7 and drawing 6. He’s also scored 4 against his former side in the 12 league games.
Since August 2020 he has been directly involved in 10 goals against the big 6 teams, with 7 of them coming last season.
My Top Bet365 Tips:
Trent Alexander-Arnold Over 0.5 SoT – 2/1
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