Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
Chelsea vs Liverpool is one of the prime fixtures in English football. Whether the pair clash in one of the domestic or European cup competitions or in the Premier League itself, both sets of rival fans want to earn the bragging rights at least until they meet again later down the line.
Given the elite status of the two sides and the fierce rivalry that has been forged since the early 2000s when a fresh-faced Jose Mourinho arrived in West London as the self-proclaimed 'Special One', it's also a clash that attracts the attention of millions of neutral supporters from all over the world.
The recent meetings between Chelsea and Liverpool have left a lot to be desired, however. The last six outings have ended in draws, while a goal hasn't been scored in their last four encounters - two of which even included extra-time as they were in the 2022 Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals at Wembley.
The 2-2 draw in the 2021-22 season deserves a mention as Chelea's comeback from two goals down to steal a point from Liverpool's grasp had fans on the edge of their seats, but for the most part, this is a fixture that has lost its spark and needs to be reignited.
It has become more of a chess match than a football match when these two meet and we could see that again on the first weekend of the new season as the Reds are due to travel to Stamford Bridge for what is being billed as a blockbuster opener to the new season.
Jurgen Klopp's men are the favourites in the Chelsea v Liverpool odds, but there is very little separating them in the betting market and neither side will want to start their campaign on the wrong foot especially when you consider that they both fell well below the bar of expectation last season.
Liverpool missed out on Champions League football for the first time since Klopp's maiden season at Anfield in 2015-16 and the pressure is on the Reds to bounce back from that, while new Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino is tasked with picking his side back up from what was their worst season in recent memory.
Chelsea finished outside the top half of the table (12th) for the first time since the mid-1990s despite their new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital spending over £500 million on recruits and the club has gone through a huge transition this summer with a huge clear out which includes first team players like Matteo Kovacic, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz being sold to rivals and 'deadwood' being shifted.
Pochettino will be keen to get off to a winning start in front of the Chelsea fans and it will be interesting to see how Klopp approaches the fixture considering that he won't have much more than the Blues' pre-season ties to go off in terms of how this new-look Chelsea are going to set up tactically and play.
When you put together all these factors, it seems inevitable that yet another draw is on the cards at Stamford Bridge on August 13. Let's just hope there are some goals to make it an entertaining start to what promises to be another thrilling season.
My daughter's first ever football match - Orlando City v Atlanta United, August 2019. Written for Izzy to read when she gets old enough. Vamos Orlando
An in-depth look at the biggest football attendances ever recorded, from the 1950 World Cup to pre-season friendlies in the States and the Scottish ground with dozens of 100,000+ attendances
Tony Incenzo has been to over 2,000 football grounds - is he the world's barmiest football fan? Read about his love for Non-League football and groundhopping obsession, including watching a match in prison!
23 interesting things to do to pass the time until the football season restarts