*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
Chelsea remain unbeaten under Thomas Tuchel and have made indisputable progress in the early days of his tenure, but they still look short of ideas up front. Tuchel’s side have yet to score more than twice in any of his nine games in charge despite playing against several bottom-half sides and Championship outfit Barnsley.
Thursday 8.15pm: Liverpool v Chelsea
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However, they are unrecognisable at the back and will hope to contain a Liverpool side that has looked toothless themselves in recent months, especially at home.
The champions have lost four games on the trot at Anfield – a remarkable run of form considering they had gone 69 home league games without a loss prior to their defeat to Burnley in January.
The Draw
Liverpool have failed to score in four of their previous five home games – only managing to score a dubious penalty in a comprehensive defeat to Manchester City since the turn of the year – and would probably settle for a point on Thursday night.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have only managed to win one of their eight fixtures against the Big Six and Leicester this season and seem to really struggle against quality sides. A draw wouldn’t be the worst result for either side on Thursday night.
Under 2.5 goals
Chelsea’s poor record in big games also extends to their goalscoring form. In eight games against the traditional big six and Leicester, the Blues have scored just three goals.
Their record is especially poor considering two of those goals were consolations in comprehensive 3-1 defeats to Arsenal and Manchester City and the chances of them going goal crazy at Anfield are slim at best. Liverpool, on the other hand, have scored just twice in six home league games and are massively short on confidence in front of goal.
With so many big games ending in disappointing low-scoring draws, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Thursday’s game end in similar fashion with Under 2.5 Goals.
Over 5.5 Liverpool corners
Liverpool have continued to win a high number of corners despite their shortcomings in their six previous home games. Jurgen Klopp’s side have won 44 corners in their six-game winless streak at Anfield, while they have dominated possession and territory in every game, including their defeat to City.
Tuchel’s Chelsea will try to play a possession-based game on Thursday night, but Liverpool will be braver than either Manchester United or Tottenham were against them in recent weeks and should still shade the possession, territory, and chances created statistics. There is consequently a good chance that Liverpool will win Over 5.5 corners on Thursday.
Ozan Kabak to be booked
It has been a baptism of fire for the young Turkish defender, Ozan Kabak, since his January arrival from Schalke. Kabak has made three league appearances for the Reds since his move from Germany and has already been booked in the defeats to Everton and Leicester.
His struggles are unsurprising given that he has been part of a makeshift defence lacking the protection of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson since his debut and he may struggle against Chelsea’s tricky forwards on Thursday night. It will be a huge test for the young defender who averages almost two fouls a game and he may easily be forced to commit a foul worthy of a yellow card and Ozan Kabak to be booked.
Tips for Liverpool v Chelsea
The Draw
Under 2.5 goals
Over 5.5 Liverpool corners
Ozan Kabak to be booked
These four selections in a Bet Builder will give you odds of around 29/1 with Paddy Power.
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*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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