English Premier
2012-05-08 - Liverpool vs Chelsea
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Tuesday 8 May 2012 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Liverpool
It wasn't the end of season that the fans would have been looking for as Liverpool failed to add the FA Cup to the Carling Cup they won earlier this season and this game will bring back the start realities of a poor League campaign. It will be a big Summer for Kenny Dalglish as he looks to mould his squad into a Champions League contender next season while also having to deal with the extra competition in the form of the Europa League.
Liverpool are 9th in the Premier League table and have already secured a top half finish, although they do look set to finish behind their local rivals Everton who they trail by 4 points with just 2 games left to play. They have really struggled at Anfield where they are 5-9-4 this season, scoring 20 goals and conceding 15.
The loss to Chelsea on Saturday means the side have lost 3 of their last 4 games in all competitions, while they have really struggled with the expectation of playing at home down the stretch. Liverpool have failed to win any of their last 4 home games since beating Stoke City 2-1 in the Sixth Round of the FA Cup, and they have actually lost 3 of those games. It is more worrying that they have played the likes of Wigan Athletic, Aston Villa, West Brom and Fulham in those games.
There has been a suggestion that Dalglish will make changes to the side that started the FA Cup Final on Saturday. I expect Andy Carroll will get a starting berth having scored one and had another saved on the line after coming on as a substitute.
Chelsea
Roberto Di Matteo is doing his chances of getting the Chelsea manager job on a permanent basis no harm at all as he led the Blues to their fourth FA Cup success in the last seven years. They still have one huge game left this season when they play Bayern Munich for the Champions League trophy, while results this weekend in the Premier League mean they could sneak into a top 4 berth and a definite place in that competition for next season regardless of what happens in Munich.
With the three sides directly above them all failing to win, Chelsea are just 6 points behind Arsenal in 3rd and 5 points behind 4th placed Tottenham Hotspur. The team have a 6-7-5 record away from home this season, scoring 23 goals and conceding 18, and they will need to win this game if they have a real hope of making the top 4.
The win in the FA Cup Final on Saturday means Chelsea got back to winning ways following a 0-2 home loss in their last League game against Newcastle United last Wednesday. Chelsea have drawn their last 3 away games in all competitions since a 2-4 win at Aston Villa and they have now lost just 1 of their last 7 away from home.
Di Matteo is also expected to make some changes to his side following their Cup exploits and also to keep the side fresh ahead of the Champions League Final in a little under 2 weeks time. Fernando Torres could start against his former club, but the game is still too soon for either Gary Cahill or David Luiz.
Head to Head
Chelsea's win over Liverpool was their first in 5 games against them.
Liverpool have lost just 1 of their last 5 home games in the Premier League against Chelsea, picking up wins in 3 of those games including a 2-0 success last season under Roy Hodgson.
Prediction
There are likely going to be a number of changes to the sides that started the Cup Final on Saturday as this one kicks off between two sides that have little to play for in the grand scheme of things.
Chelsea have the most to lose as they still have a very slight chance of reaching the top 4 and automatically booking their place in the Champions League for next season, but they will need to win their final two games and hope either Arsenal lose or Tottenham Hotspur fail to win in their final games respectively.
While I do think there will be personnel changes, I do believe that the systems and tactics will be similar to the game on Saturday when the goals really came out of mistakes made by the defences.
I am not going to go too far from how I thought the game was going to go on Saturday and I will pick this one to finish Unders.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea
