Chelsea Looks to End Liverpool’s Perfect Start as Home Dogs Saturday

There is nothing quite like a matchup of top teams in the Premier League and we get this pleasure in gameweek seven as Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea hosts Jurgen Klopp’s perfect Liverpool Saturday. The Reds are the only team left standing with a 100 percent record in league play and face the stiffest of tests at Stamford Bridge and betting odds are indicative of just how tricky this game is going to be from a betting perspective.

Online shop Sportsbook is currently offering Chelsea as home underdogs in moneyline markets at +180 with the Reds at +155 and the draw at +255. Oddsmakers expect goals as the total is sitting at 3 with OVER +110 and UNDER -130. As for the spread, this game is sitting at a pick with Liverpool at -125 and Chelsea +105.

Both of these sides have been impressive thus far but Chelsea was the first to slip up and drop points with their nil-nil draw at West Ham last week. The pair met midweek in the Carabao Cup with Chelsea winning 2-1, but take that result with a grain of salt as I suspect neither team really cares about that tournament.

The Premier League is of the utmost importance for both of these teams so let’s a take a look and see if we can find an edge.

View Chelsea v Liverpool Matchup Page

Pitch Perfect

Six games. Six wins. Klopp and his electric Liverpool side have come out flying and have built on a great 2017/18 season and look to have their sights set on the league title.

The addition of a world class keeper (Alisson) and a box-to-box midfielder built for Klopp’s gegenpress (Naby Keita) have been brilliant as both have fit into the side seamlessly and the rest of the league has been put on notice.

Liverpool’s “marquee” win was a 2-1 triumph over Tottenham but this team blasted West Ham 4-0 and Southampton 3-0 and haven’t really been pushed yet. They were up 2-0 on Spurs before Erik Lamela scored in injury time.

The Reds have joined three other Premier League clubs with unblemished starts to the season with six wins in six games. Newcastle (94/95), Manchester City (16/17) and Chelsea (09/10, 05/06) are the other clubs with that distinction. Seven is a tricky one. Only the 05/06 Chelsea side was able to escape seven wins from seven games.

The manager, the players and the club will know this. The problem is, so will Chelsea. And the Blues will not want to be on the wrong end of history here.

This is Not Last Season’s Liverpool

If you are familiar with the Premier League, you know Liverpool can score with anyone. Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino form one of the most feared attacking tridents in English football. But the difference with this side compared to last season is that they can suddenly defend.

Liverpool has conceded the fewest number of goals this season (two) which is a blistering start to a team that was fine at the back last season but fell victim to some dubious goals. They added Virgil van Dijk in the January window and he has turned into one of the top three or four centerbacks in the league. Add to that a pair of great young fullbacks in Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold and the aforementioned Alisson between the sticks and you’ve got yourself a Premier League contender that needs to be taken seriously.

This is a team that reached the Champions League final and who knows how that would have played out if Sergio Ramos had not mangled Salah. The point here is that Liverpool is better than last year and if they manage three points at Stamford Bridge, they are destined for big things.

Stamford Blues

When it comes to matches at Stamford Bridge, Liverpool has traditionally been a thorn in Chelsea’s side. The Blues have won just two league games at home against Liverpool since the 2010/11 season. The silver lining here is that they managed a 1-0 win in last season’s fixture.

Antonio Conte’s Chelsea got a goal from Olivier Giroud to secure the three points last season but it’s been tough sledding for Chelsea down the years in this fixture. Since that 10/11 season, Liverpool has won here four times, the teams have drawn twice and Chelsea has managed two wins.

The Blues are perfect at home this season with three wins through three games and have bagged nine goals and conceded just twice. Away from Anfield, Liverpool is obviously unblemished with nine points from three games with six goals while both of their conceded goals this season have come on the road.

Ninja’s Pick

This is an extremely tough game to get a read on but there is great betting value up and down the oddsboard. Any outcome is likely and there is great value in 1X2 betting so whatever you do there, if you win, you’ll get a nice payout.

As stated in my video above, I like the look of Liverpool to score first which is now -110. Considering Liverpool only concedes away from home up to this point, both teams to score at -185 is also a decent wager.

Lastly, have a look at anytime goalscorer markets. Everyone is plus-money with Salah +115, Firmino +190 and Mane at the incredible price of +210. As for Chelsea, Eden Hazard is +160 while Giroud and Alvaro Morata are both +175.

Lots of great betting in this one, so best of luck!