Peter Crouch makes confident Chelsea v Liverpool prediction

Peter Crouch has tipped Liverpool to get their title defence back on track with a comfortable victory over Chelsea.

The Premier League champions suffered a stunning 2-1 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace last time out, with Eddie Nketiah firing home a dramatic stoppage-time winner at Selhurst Park.

Arsenal came from behind to beat Arsenal 24 hours later to move to within two points of Liverpool at the top ahead of what promises to be a compelling weekend of action in the top flight.

Liverpool will have been desperate for a morale-boosting mid-week performance versus Galatasaray in the Champions League to raise spirits after their setback in south London, but it wasn’t to be for Arne Slot’s men.

For the first time since as far back as 2020, the Reds failed the net in Europe’s premier competition, with Victor Osimhen scoring the only goal of the game from the penalty spot.

However, the Merseyside giants can take some encouragement from the fact their next opponents, Chelsea, are also struggling for form after back-to-back league defeats to Manchester United and Brighton.

While the Blues returned to winning ways at home to Benfica on Tuesday night, Crouch is confident Liverpool will come away from Stamford Bridge with maximum points.

‘Obviously with Arsenal winning in the last minute, it feels like they’re in the ascendancy a little bit,’ the ex-Liverpool and England striker said on That Peter Crouch Podcast.

‘Liverpool probably need a reaction, but it’s a tough place to go, obviously, at Chelsea.

‘I do think Liverpool will get a result here, though.’

Pressed for a score prediction ahead of Saturday’s heavyweight encounter, Crouch replied: ‘I’m going in! I’m going to go 3-1 Liverpool.’

To add to Enzo Maresca’s woes amid Chelsea’s concerning run of form, the club are expected to be without eight first-team players for the clash with Liverpool.

Cole Palmer, Liam Delap,  Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo, Wesley Fofana, Andrey Santos and Dario Essugo are all set to miss out for the hosts due to injury.

Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah, meanwhile, will be forced to sit out the contest through suspension following his sending off in the side’s defeat to Brighton.

‘We lost Andrey Santos, who will be out until after the international break,’ Maresca told reporters following the win over Benfica.

‘We have seven or eight players out. It is difficult to pick the same XI.

‘But it is what it is. We need to adapt.’

Liverpool boast a decidedly cleaner bill of health by comparison, but Hugo Ekitike, Alisson Becker and Federico Chiesa are all fitness doubts.

Summer arrival Giovanni Leoni, meanwhile, has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign after suffering a serious knee injury on debut against Southampton.

‘He is not in a good place, of course, because he tore his ACL and it means he will be out for a year,’ Slot said of the young defender’s devastating setback.

‘Being so young and coming to a new country and playing so well in your first game… it’s very hard to take the positive side.

‘There’s never a positive side, but you always try to look at a positive side and that is that he is still so young.

‘He has so many years still to go after he recovers from a terrible injury like that.’