Jose
Mourinho will be hoping for a much-needed victory when Chelsea host
Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday.
Chelsea have won just one of their last seven matches in all competitions
and there has been speculation in the English written media concerning
Mourinho's position ahead their match against the Reds.
Mourinho insisted he has not lost his players after the Capital One Cup
defeat to Stoke in midweek but the Blues need to improve results if they are
to challenge for the top four.
They have fared well against Liverpool in recent seasons, winning three and
drawing three of their last six meetings.
However, Liverpool are undefeated under new manager Jurgen Klopp, who earned
his first win against Bournemouth in midweek.
Klopp and Mourinho have met before when they were at Borussia Dortmund and
Real Madrid respectively, with Dortmund eliminating the Spanish side from
the Champions League in 2012/13.
Team news
Diego Costa and Pedro will undergo late fitness tests to determine if the
pair will feature against Liverpool. Costa damaged ribs in Tuesday's Capital
One Cup penalty shootout defeat at Stoke, while Pedro has been absent in
recent games with an undisclosed knock.
Midfielder Nemanja Matic is available after serving a one-match suspension
for his dismissal at West Ham last Saturday, but goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois
(knee) and defender Branislav Ivanovic (hamstring) remain out.
Christian Benteke returns to Liverpool's squad after being rested for the
Capital One Cup victory over Bournemouth because of a knee niggle, but has
since trained and will go back into the side.
Defender Kolo Toure is out with a hamstring injury sustained in midweek,
while James Milner returns from suspension and Roberto Firmino is pushing
for a starting spot.
Opta stats
Liverpool have failed to score in just one of their last 10 league clashes
with the Blues.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have enjoyed just one victory in their five
Premier League games against Liverpool (D2 L2), although are they unbeaten
in the last three (W1 D2).
The Blues have lost two of their last four home league games after going
unbeaten in the previous 21 (W15 D6).
Liverpool are unbeaten in their last five Premier League games (W1 D4),
their longest top-flight unbeaten spell since March (13 games unbeaten).
Jose Mourinho has lost six of his last 12 Premier League matches;
immediately before that run, he had lost six in 64 in the English
top-flight.
Liverpool are without a win on their last five top-tier trips to London,
losing two and drawing each of the last three.
Merson's prediction
I'm going to go for a home win here as I haven't been that impressed by
Liverpool. I think Jurgen Klopp has gone in there and realised there's a lot
of work to do. I keep on saying I expect Chelsea to win and they keep on
losing, but I just think they'll have too much for Liverpool on Saturday.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0
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