It is absolutely nuts right now in the summer transfer window, but we have another weekend of Premier League action to focus on before the deadline passes on Tuesday. The headliner fixture of that final weekend before deadline day and then an international break is Liverpool hosting Chelsea on Saturday evening.
It’s a match-up of two sides that have won the league title and the Champions League title in the very recent past. It’s also a match-up of two sides that have scored five goals and conceded none through the first two matches this season.
Chelsea at Liverpool FYIs
For the Chelsea UCL Draw results, go here.
Kickoff: 5:30pm BST, Saturday Aug 28, Anfield
Team News: Liverpool Chelsea
Starting XI Predictions: Liverpool Chelsea
Odds: Liverpool +145 Chelsea +185 Draw +230
TV/Stream: NBC, Peacock Premium
Chelsea Team News
There have only been two players missing out for the Blues this week, and both are absent due to their having tested positive for COVID-19. That’s Christian Pulisic, who has American footy fans everywhere on pins and needles in hopes that he’ll be match fit for the first World Cup Qualifier.
The other is Ruben Loftus-Cheek who has been linked with a move to AS Roma, but is likely to end up staying put. Both are doubts for this one, but the Blues have insane depth on their roster as this point.
It will also be interesting to see what role Hakim Ziyech plays in this one.
Prediction: Liverpool 2, Chelsea 1
I’m really thinking the 12th man at Anfield is going to make the difference here in this true heavyweight bout.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.
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