Liverpool vs Chelsea Preview: Reds Eye Champions League Spot as Blues Seek End to Six-Game Losing Streak

Liverpool and Chelsea open the Premier League’s weekend schedule at Anfield on Saturday in a fixture that carries vastly different stakes for each club heading into the final stretch of the 2025-26 season.

Liverpool, currently fourth with 58 points, can confirm their place in the 2026-27 UEFA Champions League with a win, provided Bournemouth drop points at Fulham. The Reds sit six points clear of Bournemouth and seven above Brentford, and a draw may also prove sufficient depending on results elsewhere involving Bournemouth, Brentford, and Brighton.

The defending champions arrive at this fixture on the back of a 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend, ending what had been a three-match winning run. Prior to that loss, Arne Slot’s side had shown encouraging consistency in the league, and their overall standing still positions them comfortably within the top five.

Chelsea’s situation is considerably more dire. Enzo Maresca’s successor — identified in the article as McFarlane — has overseen a catastrophic run of form that has seen the Blues lose their last six Premier League matches. Their most recent setback was a 3-1 home defeat to Nottingham Forest, a result that compounded an already damaging sequence. Chelsea are ninth, a full 10 points behind Aston Villa in fifth with only three games remaining, meaning top-five contention is mathematically closed. However, they remain four points adrift of Bournemouth in sixth, a position that could theoretically yield Champions League football should Aston Villa finish in the top five and win the Europa League — though that route could close entirely depending on this weekend’s results.

Beyond Saturday’s league meeting, Chelsea will also be preparing for next weekend’s FA Cup final against Manchester City, giving the squad a significant reason to stabilise before that Wembley appearance.

In head-to-head terms, Chelsea claimed a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge in October 2025, their second win over Liverpool at that ground in the calendar year. That result means Chelsea are chasing a league double over Liverpool for the first time since the 2013-14 season. However, Liverpool have won their last two home meetings with Chelsea, including a Mohamed Salah-inspired 2-1 victory last season at Anfield. Chelsea’s away record against Liverpool is notably poor: the Blues have won just one of their last 10 visits to Anfield — a 1-0 win under Thomas Tuchel in March 2021 — drawing five and losing four.

On the team news front, Liverpool are cautiously optimistic about the availability of striker Alexander Isak and goalkeeper Alisson Becker, both of whom missed the defeat at Old Trafford. Isak had been dealing with a minor groin issue, though Slot indicated last week that the Swedish international was expected to return for this fixture. Alisson is also reportedly nearing a comeback. Mohamed Salah, however, is likely to sit out Saturday, with the Egyptian expected to feature in at least one more game before his much-anticipated farewell. Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, and goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili remain long-term absentees.

Chelsea’s team news is complicated by injury concerns following the Forest defeat, which was marred by two separate head collision incidents at Stamford Bridge. Teenage attacker Jesse Derry was stretchered off after a collision with Zach Abbott, while goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White also clashed heads. Filip Jorgensen is expected to replace Sanchez between the posts. Attacking players Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho, and Jamie Gittens are reportedly in contention to be fit in time, while Estevao Willian is ruled out with a thigh injury and Mykhaylo Mudryk continues to serve a doping ban.

Possible starting lineups see Liverpool lining up as: Woodman; Jones, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Frimpong, Wirtz, Ngumoha; Gakpo. Chelsea are expected to field: Jorgensen; James, Colwill, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Santos; Palmer, Fernandez, Neto; Pedro.

Based on current form, Liverpool hold a clear advantage. Chelsea have not won in the league since late in the season’s mid-section, and their away record at Anfield over the past decade offers little grounds for confidence. A Liverpool win appears the most likely outcome, with a 2-1 scoreline considered a reasonable prediction given the fitness uncertainties on both sides.