Liverpool vs Chelsea 15/08/19
15 August 2019
An all-English UEFA Super Cup Final that takes place at Vodafone Park in Istanbul this midweek will see Liverpool and Chelsea facing off in quite contrasting circumstances. While the reigning Champions League holders hammered Norwich City 4-1 at home in the Premier League opener, the defending Europa League champions have suffered a disastrous 4-0 away loss to Manchester United. Interestingly, although just three of the last 11 H2H meetings between these two sides have featured over 2.5 goals, eight of them have seen both teams score.
The Reds have already missed out on one trophy this campaign having lost to Manchester City in the FA Community Shield after a penalty shootout. Still, the Merseyside giants have won 15 of their last 17 games across all competitions (W15, L2), all of which have seen them score two or more goals. A potential worry for Jurgen Klopp ahead of this clash could be Liverpool’s inability to keep a clean sheet lately, as they’ve conceded at least one goal in all eight of their previous outings, allowing over 1.5 match goals four times along the way. What’s more, they have pulled off just one triumph in their last six H2H meetings with Chelsea (W1, D3, L2), netting more than one goal per match only once in the process.
Meanwhile, Franck Lampard would like to forget his competitive debut as Chelsea manager as soon as possible. The Blues have done well in their final four pre-season games (W3, D1), with all of those matches producing over 2.5 goals and seeing both teams score. But, Chelsea’ indifferent form when it comes to their competitive games could be a problem here, as they’ve secured just three wins after 90 minutes in their previous eight outings across all competitions (W3, D4, L1). Another potential problem for the Pensioners is that they’ve scored one goal or less in five of those matches while failing to keep a clean sheet six times in the process.