Chelsea Welcome Liverpool in Title Chase Clash

One of the biggest games of the English footballing calendar comes up tomorrow when second-placed Chelsea welcome third- placed Liverpool to Stamford Bridge. The two sides played out a dramatic 1-1 draw at Anfield back in August and Sunday’s clash certainly promises to be quite the occasion. Both teams head into this clash battling through injury issues, as Thomas Tuchel and Jurgen Klopp know a win is imperative to help set them up for a second half surge as they try to chase down first-place Manchester City

Second meets third in a tantalising opening to 2022 at Stamford Bridge, as title rivals Chelsea and Liverpool prepare for battle in the capital.
Tuchel’s side were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton & Hove Albion last time out, while the Reds were sunk by Leicester City in a 1-0 defeat.

Winter was certainly unforgiving to those in Blue, as a frustrated Tuchel bemoaned his side’s growing absentee list after Brighton took a point home from Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
Romelu Lukaku returned to the starting lineup with a bang as he headed in the opening goal after 28 minutes, but last-minute hero Danny Welbeck restored parity for the Seagulls in second half injury time as Chelsea once again came up short at home.

The Blues have now fallen eight points behind runaway leaders Manchester City, though the season has only just reached its midway point, Tuchel claimed that it would be “stupid” to think his depleted side are capable of competing for top-flight glory.

Four of Chelsea’s last five Premier League encounters at Stamford Bridge have now ended 1-1, and failing to keep a single home clean sheet in that run represents quite the downturn from Chelsea’s formerly steadfast defence under Tuchel.

Despite the Blues boss’ comments, it would be folly to write Chelsea off the title race ahead of the New Year, and they were certainly done a favour by Leicester before the confidence-sapped Reds make the journey south.

Before the first ball was kicked at the King Power, all the signs pointed towards a Liverpool victory. The Reds had enjoyed a six-day recovery period after dumping the Foxes out of the EFL Cup, while Brendan Rodgers was short of options 48 hours after that 6-3 loss to Manchester City.
However, Leicester dug deep to pick up a morale-boosting festive win in front of their own fans, as Ademola Lookman came off the bench to strike before the Foxes defence held firm to dampen the spirits on the red half of Merseyside.

Defeat at the King Power marked only Liverpool’s second loss in the 2021-22 season across all competitions, and the third-placed Reds now find themselves nine points adrift of Manchester City having played a game fewer, and fourth-placed Arsenal are suddenly just six points behind.
Of course, Klopp’s crop will leapfrog the Blues back into the top two with just a point in the capital, but they have failed to beat three London sides in Brentford, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur away from home so far this season.

Neither Chelsea nor Liverpool tend to kick off the New Year on a high note either, but recent history is in the Reds’ favour, as they have only lost two of their last 11 Premier League games against the Blues at Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile, Manchester City will be looking to record their 11th Premier League victory in a row when they head to the Emirates Stadium today to take on Arsenal. The Citizens are currently eight points clear of second-placed Chelsea at the top of the table, while Arsenal occupy fourth position, four points clear of fifth-placed West Ham United. Arsenal faced plenty of criticism in the opening months of the 2021-22 campaign, but it has been a positive few weeks for the Gunners, who have won each of their last five matches in all competitions, including four straight Premier League victories over Southampton, West Ham, Leeds United and Norwich City. Mikel Arteta’s side have actually scored 14 times in their last three matches, having thumped Sunderland 5-1 in the EFL Cup on December 21 before putting five goals past Norwich in the league on Boxing Day.

The Gunners had been due to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in the league on December 28, but the match had to be postponed due to coronavirus issues in the Wolves camp. Nevertheless, the North London club have still played 19 Premier League matches during the 2021-22 campaign. A record of 11 wins, two draws and six defeats has brought them 35 points, which is enough for fourth position, four points clear of fifth-placed West Ham, but Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United will also both believe that they are firmly in the top-four race at this stage of the campaign.

There will be no Arteta on the touchline for this match, with the Spaniard testing positive for coronavirus, and there has allegedly been an outbreak among the staff at the club. Man City, meanwhile, will enter this weekend’s contest off the back of a 1-0 win over Brentford on Wednesday night. The Citizens have now been victorious in each of their last 10 league matches, which has seen them rise to the top of the table, collecting 50 points from their opening 20 matches of the 2021-22 campaign. Pep Guardiola’s side are eight points clear of second-placed Chelsea and nine clear of third-placed Liverpool, and second will welcome third in the league on Sunday, so Man City could be even further clear at the summit heading into the next set of fixtures in England’s top flight. The reigning English champions will take on Swindon Town in the FA Cup on January 7 before hosting Chelsea in the league on January 15, and there is a danger that they could start to run away at the summit.

Man City have won 11 of their last 12 matches against Arsenal in all competitions, including a 5-0 victory in the reverse match at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season, while they have not lost against the Gunners in the Premier League since December 2015.