WHO: Chelsea vs Liverpool
Contents: English Premier League
Location: Stamford Bridge, London, UK
When: Saturday, October 3rd, 5:30pm (16:30 GMT)
How to Follow: Live Text Commentary Stream, do all your builds from GMT to Al Jazeera Sport from 11:15am.
Premier League champion Liverpool travels to Chelsea after a rare barren run under Arne Slot.
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The Dutch led the Reds to a record-breaking title victory last season. This is the first time since replacing the popular Jurgen Klopp – but recently Blip has led to questions about whether club transitions between managers will make the term more prominent.
Meanwhile, Chelsea wants to build on their FIFA Club World Cup victory earlier this year, but there hasn’t been a smooth start to the season itself.
Al Jazeera Sports will be looking at the equipment picks for the weekend Premier League.
What is Chelsea’s view on Liverpool’s visit?
Liverpool’s back-to-back loss last week shows they are vulnerable, but that won’t make it easier for Chelsea to clash with the champions this weekend, London-based club manager Enzo Maresca said on Friday.
Leader Liverpool launched their league campaign with five consecutive wins, but lost at Crystal Palace last Saturday.
Having lost their final two matches on top flight and sitting eighth at the table, Chelsea is a seven-point drift for Liverpool, aiming to build momentum at Benfica at Stamford Bridge in Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League.
“There are vulnerabilities not just for Liverpool, but for any team in the world. But once a team wins every game, it’s impossible to catch them. Now they’ve lost one or two games. It shows a vulnerability.”
“I don’t think it’s better to play Liverpool now. It’s always a tough game, always a big team.”
Does Chelsea have a disciplinary issue?
The red card has plagued Chelsea, with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez being fired five minutes into a 2-1 loss at Manchester United, and Trevo Charova was sent to Brighton & Hove Albion’s visit last weekend in a 3-1 loss.
“Most of the games we didn’t score points were due to the red cards. We also have eight players in the injury situation. It’s a complicated combination, but there’s no doubt we’ll slowly come back where we needed to,” Maresca said.
Did Chelsea’s Blip surprise Maresca?
The Italian who led Chelsea to the trophies of the UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup this year said they enjoyed the start of the 2025-26 season despite the struggle.
“That’s normal. I don’t think about being a Chelsea manager. Everything is always in place. You need to adjust. You need to evolve,” he added.
“I think (Liverpool) is the best team in the UK at the moment. They show that and show that they have won the Premier League. We are trying to improve and resolve the issue.
Allison’s injury means he misses the @LFC visit to Chelsea on Saturday 🤕
What do you notice about Liverpool’s records, whether or not there is a Brazilian goalkeeper? pic.twitter.com/cujimbtlvw
– Premier League (@premierleague) October 2, 2025
Allison’s injury blow hits Liverpool
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has already said that Allison will miss a league match at Chelsea after Alison’s defeat at Galatasaray mid-week, but on Friday the keeper confirmed he will not join with Brazil for a friendly match against South Korea on October 10th and four days later.
In search of the timescale for Allison’s absence, Slot states: “It depends on how fast he recovers. He’s not on Saturday and he’s not going to play in Brazil. He’s also surprised when he gets into his first match after the international break (playing United at Anfield on October 19th).
“From there, things can be a little faster or a little slower. It’s always hard to say.”
That means Georgia International Giorgi Mamardashvili will run with the first team after joining full-time from Valencia during the offseason.
What is your view on Liverpool’s form before Chelsea?
Liverpool has been struggling successive defeats under the slot for the second time since their arrival in the summer of 2024.
Slot said he saw his opponents begin to take a style of play under him in Liverpool late last season.
Liverpool is also about to gel after spending $570 million in the summer transfer window as the likes of Florian Wiltz and Alexander Isaac have adapted to life with new clubs.
Slot proposed that Liverpool would be more efficient in set pieces, the approach he called the “new reality” of the Premier League, in order to break down the opponent.
“Jurgen gave me a lot of gifts, but one of the gifts he gave me was the third (end) of the year before that and a year before that.
“The team played in a completely different way against us in the first half of the season than when we were the top of the league after the top of the Champions League. You can see this in this part of this season. We have to find the answers from last season.
What happened when Chelsea last met Liverpool?
Chelsea won the final club 3-1 meeting at Stamford Bridge on May 4th at the Premier League meeting.
Enzo Fernandez and Jarrel Quanza themselves goals pushed the blues to 2 with a break. Virgil Van Dijk pulled one back for Reds in the 85th minute and set a tight finish before Cole Palmer’s 90-minute penalty was resolved.
Head on
This was the 199th meeting between the clubs, with Liverpool earning 83 times and Chelsea earning 66.
Chelsea won the last meeting between the sides and finished a 10-game run without a victory over Liverpool.
Chelsea Team News
Chelsea are not suffering from injured defenders Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adalabioyo and defensive midfielder Dario Estugo who had thigh surgery last month.
“I think we have four or five defenders out there at this moment, trying to find the right solution for tomorrow,” Maresca said.
Forward Liam Dellup and midfielders Cole Palmer and Andree Santos have also been injured.
Trevor Chalobah has been suspended for the game following his send-off in Brighton, but Pedro is sent out mid-weekly will not affect his participation.
Liverpool Team News
Allison was one of two victims of the Reds’ mid-week loss along with Hugo Ekichique, but he has not been ruled out entirely due to thigh issues.
Federico Chiesa may return from Nigle, but Giovanni Leoni remains a long-term absentee due to an ACL injury.
Chelsea predicted the starting lineup
Sanchez; James, Atianpon, Badiaseil, Kukurera; Fernandez, Kaycedo; Estebao, Buonanotto, Neto; Pedro
Liverpool’s possible starting lineup
Mamardashvili; Frimon, Konate, Vandic, Kerkes. Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Sarah, szoboszlai, gakpo; Isaac
