The stand out Premier League fixture of the opening weekend will see Mauricio Pochettino take charge of Chelsea for the first time when they host Liverpool.
Chelsea endured a nightmare 2022-23 season, spending a Premier League record only to finish an abysmal 12th place, losing 16 of their 38 matches.
Both Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter were sacked by Chelsea last year, with Frank Lampard’s interim spell at the end of the season one to forget.
Liverpool were another side that struggled last year and they surprisingly missed out on the Champions League as they could only finish fifth.
Legends in the form of Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson and James Milner have all departed Anfield this season, with Alexis MacAllister and Dominik Szoboszlai the main additions.
Chelsea have also had an overhaul going into the new campaign, with numerous players leaving the club, including Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante, Matteo Kovacic and Christian Pulisic.
Christopher Nkunku is the biggest incoming with Chelsea desperate to add Moises Caicedo from Brighton.
Match history
Both league meetings last season finished 0-0, a reflection of where both sides were at in disappointing seasons.
Incredibly the last six games between the two in all competitions have finished in draws, although Liverpool did go onto beat Chelsea on penalties in both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup finals in 2021-22.
Last five Premier League meetings
Chelsea 0 Liverpool 0 – 04/04/23
Liverpool 0 Chelsea 0 – 21/01/23
Chelsea 2 Liverpool 2 – 02/01/22
Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1 – 28/08/21
Liverpool 0 Chelsea 1 – 04/03/21
Team news
New signing Nkunku suffered an injury in pre-season and there is some suggestion he will miss a couple of months.
Fellow addition Nicolas Jackson will likely lead the line, whilst Levi Colwill is expected to partner Thiago Silva in the heart of defence.
Having sold Henderson and Fabinho, Liverpool are short of a defensive midfielder and MacAllister featured deeper than usual in their most recently friendly.
In what is expected to be an attacking line-up, Darwin Nunez is the forward option seemingly most likely to be a substitute, having been on the bench in the last two friendlies.
Expected starting XI’s
Chelsea (4-3-3): Kepa; James, Silva, Colwill, Chilwell; Fernandez, Gallagher, Chukwuemeka; Sterling, Jackson, Mudryk
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; MacAllister, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Salah, Jota, Diaz
Predictions
Result: Draw
The last six have finished level, it’s the most likely result
Correct Score: 1-1
Both sides have looked good going forward, but defensively shaky in pre-season. A third 0-0 in a row is unlikely
Anytime Goalscorer: Mohamed Salah
He always scores on the opening weekend!
