The weekend’s biggest and brightest Premier League fixture sees Liverpool traveling to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea FC in a match with major top four ramifications. The Reds are looking to clinch a top four slot, with the reality now sinking in that they are not likely to finish any higher than third this season.
When it comes to the top four, the Blues are still clinging to a tiny shred of hope, but if they drop points here at home, you can effectively put the kibosh on that. They remain five points behind Tottenham Hotspur with just three to play. They are six point behind Sunday’s opposition, but do hold a game in hand on the Reds.
That all said, let’s take a look at who manager Antonio Conte might select in a bid to try and keep his side’s league season alive. Unless they win all three of their remaining league fixtures, it’s probably UEFA Europa League competition for them next season.
The Sports Bank’s Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction:
Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois
Defenders: Antonio Rudiger, Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen
Midfielders: N’Golo Kante, Cesc Fabregas, Victor Moses, Emerson Palmieri
Forwards: Olivier Giroud, Eden Hazard, Willian
Antonio Conte press conference video, notable quotables: go to this link
Liverpool Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Jurgen Klopp press conference video, notable quotables: Go to this link
Injury, Fitness, Team News for both sides: go to this link
Betting Odds: Chelsea FC win: 23/20 Liverpool win: 9/4 Draw: 5/2
Prediction: Chelsea FC 4, Liverpool 3
As always, feel free to post your own starting XIs and/or final score predictions in the comments section below.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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