New on Sports Illustrated: Chelsea-Liverpool Preview

There will not be any fans present to mark the occasion, but the Premier League trophy will finally be at Anfield on Wednesday, when champions Liverpool will celebrate their title following their top-four showdown versus Chelsea.

A 30-year league title drought ended last month when Liverpool (30-3-3) stormed their way to the top of the table early and never relinquished that spot. The Reds have been spotty at times during Project Restart - forgivable considering they were champions-elect before COVID-19 shut down the world in March - and that form has cost them a shot at joining the 2017-18 Manchester City side as the only centurions in English football.

Still, there are may other things to celebrate, including some of the ghosts that will be binned when captain Jordan Henderson lifts the trophy after the final whistle. The clip of talisman Stevie Gerrard slipping in a pivotal match against Chelsea six years ago will be forgotten. A series of non-descript finishes - Liverpool have never finished worse than eighth in the Premier League era - will also slip into the ether.

"The boys worked so hard for it and everybody in this club worked so hard for it, so in the stadium it should be as good as anyhow possible," manager Jurgen Klopp told Liverpool's official website. "I will not disturb that, for sure not. I will be in best spirits. On a professional basis, it's 100 per cent one of the greatest days of my life, 100 per cent, to finally get our hands on this trophy, [which] everybody was waiting so long for.

"I think two or three years ago, nobody thought it would be possible for us, especially with all the challenges we faced and the challenges we have and the competitors we have. I will be proud, I think, of the boys and all what we did together in this club."

And the bitterness of finishing one point behind City in an epic title race - one Jurgen Klopp's side closed by winning their final nine matches and going unbeaten in 17 after their 2-1 loss to Manchester City in January 2019, can finally be released in catharsis. They will walk alone as champions while knowing they will truly never walk alone in Merseyside.

"The supporters, of course, are a huge factor. Without them this club isn't what it is," Henderson said for the pre-match programme notes for this contest. "Speak to anyone in the world about Liverpool Football Club and the conversation always comes back to the passion and emotion around the club - and that's entirely down to our fans. This is an emotional club and we shouldn't shy away from that fact. It brings pressures, yes, but it means everything we do together means more - in good times and bad.

"It's gutting for all of us that our fans are not with us in person, but we can still make this one of the most enjoyable shared experiences we've ever had if we want it to be."

This match will also serve as Henderson's last platform to sway Footballer of the Year voters, with the talisman's primary competition coming from City's Kevin De Bruyne. The two present a sharp contrast in terms of style of play, but both massively imprint their clubs on-field personas and make notable off-pitch contributions individually.

Chelsea (19-6-11), though, have plenty of motivation to throw a spanner in the celebrations while helping their own ends. The third-place Pensioners can secure Champions League play for next season with a victory as they enter this contest one point better than Leicester City - over whom they have a match in hand - and Manchester United - who also play Wednesday.

"We have to say it was the number one goal at the start of the season because it's the competition that's right in front of you at the start and the competition that you have to produce the most consistency in, which generally means the top teams come to the top," Chelsea boss Frank Lampard said about Champions League qualifying at his Tuesday press conference during which he also confirmed Chelsea will provide Liverpool the customary pre-match guard of honour as champions.

"It's a gauge of where you are as a club and it's about the prestige of wanting to stay in the Champions League. We've done it a lot over the last 10 or 15 years at Chelsea. This year was probably the most testing time to try and be in there so if we do, I'll be happy."

The Blues advanced to the FA Cup final on Sunday with a deserved 3-1 victory over United, setting up a London derby versus Arsenal on Aug. 1 at Wembley. Olivier Giroud scored deep into first-half stoppage time, and Mason Mount scored almost immediately after the restart. Chelsea added a third via own goal, making the late penalty conceded meaningless.

Lampard did have some injury concerns for this match as two-way midfielder N'Golo Kante is unavailable. There is, though, plenty of familiarity between the team as this will be the fourth meeting this season. The first was a Liverpool victory on penalties in the UEFA Super Cup in Istanbul last August, then a Liverpool victory at Stamford Bridge in September.

Chelsea gained a measure of revenge right before the league shut down for more than three months, eliminating the champions from the FA Cup with a 2-0 victory in the fifth round on goals by Willian and Ross Barkley.

"We have played them three times this season and we have definitely been competitive with them, and when you watch something like the trophy lift, it gives you that extra motivation going into next season," Mount said. "I am a winner so I don't like watching other people win, especially other teams. You want to win with your own team so it is definitely hard to watch someone else win but they have been brilliant this season and worthy winners."

Liverpool, who had a Premier League-record, 24-match home winning streak snapped with a 1-1 draw versus Burnley on July 11, are unbeaten in their last 58 in league play at Anfield (47-11-0) since a 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace in April 2017. The Reds are seeking their first league double over Chelsea since 2011-12.

July 22, 2020 at 01:48AM
Chelsea-Liverpool Preview