Chelsea travel to Anfield on Saturday desperate to halt a run of six consecutive Premier League defeats, with caretaker manager Calum McFarlane knowing that anything less than a positive result would leave the club staring at an unwanted piece of history — and do little to lift morale ahead of next weekend’s FA Cup final against Manchester City.
Match details and how to watch
The Premier League fixture kicks off at 12:30pm BST on Saturday 9 May 2026 at Anfield. In the UK, the match will be broadcast live on TNT Sports, with coverage beginning at 11am on TNT Sports 1. Subscribers can also stream the game via the TNT Sports app and website, while talkSPORT will provide radio commentary. Standard Sport’s live blog, featuring analysis from Dom Smith, will offer minute-by-minute coverage on matchday.
Team news: Chelsea lose Sanchez; Isak a late call for Liverpool
Chelsea have been dealt a significant blow with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez ruled out after being substituted in the second half of last weekend’s defeat to Nottingham Forest. Sanchez suffered a nasty collision with Morgan Gibbs-White and left the pitch with a bandaged head; concussion protocols now prevent him from featuring at Anfield. Joining him on the sidelines are Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho, who are understood to be unlikely to play after picking up knocks in training. Jesse Derry, who made his Premier League debut against Forest, is out with a head injury, while Estevao Willian (thigh), Mykhaylo Mudryk (serving a doping ban) and Jamie Gittens (thigh) are also unavailable.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are hopeful that Alexander Isak can feature. The striker — a British-record £130m signing from Newcastle who has endured a stop-start season disrupted by injury, including a broken leg — missed the defeat at Old Trafford with a minor groin issue but has returned to partial training. Manager Arne Slot described Isak’s availability as a “late call”. Second-choice goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili has recovered from a cut sooner than anticipated and is available. Alisson Becker is not thought to be far from a return after a hamstring injury but has not yet trained with the first team; Saturday’s game comes too soon for Mohamed Salah, who remains sidelined with a thigh injury but is expected to play at least one more game before his departure from the club at the end of the season. Florian Wirtz (illness) and Ibrahima Konate (personal matter) missed training earlier in the week but are expected to be available. Wataru Endo is a doubt with an ankle issue. Long-term absentees include Hugo Ekitike (Achilles), Conor Bradley (knee) and Giovanni Leoni (knee).
Form, stakes and the impact on the prediction
On paper, this fixture looks a straightforward home win — and the form guide offers little reason to argue otherwise. Liverpool sit fourth in the table with 58 points, needing only four more from their remaining three games to secure Champions League qualification. Arne Slot’s side had put together a three-game winning run before defeat at Old Trafford, and their home record is formidable: four wins in their last five league matches at Anfield, taking 10 points from the last 12 available on Merseyside. The early 12:30pm Saturday kick-off historically favours home teams in the Premier League, and Liverpool have lost only one of their last four home league meetings with Chelsea (two wins, two draws).
Chelsea’s collapse, by contrast, has been alarming. The Blues are ninth on 48 points and have lost six consecutive Premier League matches — a run that has seen them take zero points from the last 18 on offer. Should they lose at Anfield, it would equal a club record of seven straight league defeats, set in 1952. Their Champions League hopes are mathematically finished, though a sixth-place finish could still offer a route into the competition if Aston Villa win the Europa League. FA Cup victories against lower-league opposition have provided fleeting respite, but in the league the side have looked poor for weeks. McFarlane, in interim charge until the end of the season after Mauricio Pochettino was sacked at the end of the 2023-24 campaign (his overall Chelsea record: 27 wins, 10 draws, 14 losses in 51 games), has been unable to arrest the slide. The absence of Sanchez, Neto and Garnacho only deepens the sense of crisis.
That combination — Liverpool’s strong home form and Chelsea’s catastrophic league run — heavily weights the forecast. The prediction is a routine home victory: Liverpool to win 2-0.
Head-to-head history and betting odds
Saturday will be the 200th competitive meeting between these sides. Liverpool hold the historical advantage with 87 wins to Chelsea’s 67; 46 matches have ended in draws. The most recent encounter at Anfield finished 2-1 to Liverpool, but Chelsea won the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge 2-1 in October 2025 and also triumphed 3-1 in May 2025. Chelsea are seeking their first league double over Liverpool since the 2013-14 season. At Anfield, Chelsea have won only one of their last ten Premier League away games (five draws, four defeats). Liverpool’s top scorers in the fixture are Ian Rush (10 goals) and Roger Hunt (9 goals); Chelsea’s is Didier Drogba with nine. The biggest win in the series belongs to Chelsea — 6-1 in August 1937 — while Liverpool’s largest margin is 6-0 in April 1935. Between August 2021 and October 2024, Liverpool enjoyed a ten-game unbeaten run against Chelsea across all competitions, including cup finals.
Betfair’s odds reflect the gulf in recent form: Liverpool are priced at 4/5 to win, Chelsea at 12/5, and the draw at 12/5. Some bookmakers offer Liverpool to win to nil at 18/5, and over 2.5 goals at +180. Odds are subject to change.
Whatever the result on Saturday, Chelsea’s immediate focus will shift to Wembley, where they face Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday 16 May. That match — protected by UK law and therefore shown on free-to-air channels ITV and BBC Sport — now looms as both a chance for redemption and a high-stakes test of whether McFarlane’s side can rediscover any semblance of competitive steel before the season ends. Liverpool, meanwhile, could secure their Champions League place with a win if Bournemouth drop points elsewhere.
