Prediction & odds for the game: Liverpool (1/1) v Chelsea (5/2)
When: Wednesday, 22nd July @ 8.15pm K.O
Where: Anfield
Liverpool will finally be able to enjoy their title coronation tomorrow night – but first, they face the small task of hosting Chelsea.
Liverpool
While they may have been able to enjoy their title win for a few weeks now, it’s safe to say that Liverpool fans haven’t been enjoying the performances that their side have been putting in ever since they became Champions of England once again. Now that they don’t have a points total to try and break, and given that they’ve already been knocked out of the FA Cup and Champions League, you have to wonder what the motivation is behind their final two games of the campaign.
The 4-0 win over Crystal Palace set Liverpool up brilliantly for Chelsea to help them win the title, but their 4-0 battering at the hands of Manchester City was probably set up by far too much partying the week prior. They hit back with two consecutive wins over Aston Villa and Brighton, only to drop five more points against Burnley and Arsenal.
Chelsea
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is well aware of the stakes that come with this game, because if the Blues are able to beat Liverpool, they’ll officially confirm their place in next season’s Champions League. Unfortunately, the one big issue with that stems from their inconsistency over the course of the last few weeks. While they’ve been able to secure some huge victories, they’ve also had a few absolute stinkers that have forced pundits to reassess whether or not this team is truly elite.
The loss against West Ham set the Blues back a bit, but they responded in the best way imaginable with wins over Watford and Crystal Palace. They soon left fans with another bitter taste in their mouth when they were battered 3-0 by Sheffield United, only for them to beat Norwich before knocking Manchester United out of the FA Cup in their Wembley semi-final.
Conclusion
We aren’t anticipating the sort of barnburner that these two clubs are capable of, mainly because of the dynamic that this game is likely to have. The Reds are just going through the motions en-route to lifting the trophy, whereas Chelsea need to try and take something from this game so that they can avoid any final day drama against Wolves. It’s going to be pretty tight, and because of that, we’re going to predict a draw on Merseyside.
There’s a good chance we aren’t going to be blessed with many goals, too, which is why we’re backing the under 2.5 goals market – so if you’re looking for some high quality Premier League football, you should probably wait until Sunday afternoon.
Verdict: Back the draw at odds of 11/4 and the under 2.5 goals scored at odds of 6/5. (All odds are taken from bet365).
[geosnippet id=3620]Feel free to bet on Liverpool vs Chelsea through the betting page, or alternatively, check out the other available fixtures on the soccer predictions page.
