Liverpool V Chelsea Pre-Match Breakdown

@liverpoolfcw

On Sunday 16^th November, Chelsea go to Liverpool with hopes of regaining lead of the WSL after Manchester City knocked them off the top spot following their 2-1 win over Everton last weekend. Liverpool, however, hope to get their first win of the season against the title holders. The game kicks off at 12pm and can be watched on Sky Sports.  

Form analysis: 

The home side (Liverpool) haven’t had a good run of form in the WSL this season, with them losing four of their last five games, and drawing the fifth one. Liverpool currently has one point and sits 11^th out of 12 in the league and are dangerously close to the relegation zone with the only thing separating them and last place, West Ham, being goal difference. In their last game, Liverpool scored first with a late equaliser from Kafaji (Brighton) stealing away the three point in the final few minutes. This game saw Liverpool have 12 shots, making it their highest number of shots in a WSL game this season, showing that the team is becoming more confident in front of goal. Despite only taking one point from their last three games, the Reds have scored first in all three of them, showing that the bigger problem may actually be their game management and defence – not their attacking threat – something that they will have to be very wary of when playing the six-time champions.  

Chelsea, on the other hand, have had a good start to the season but are still far from perfect with the reigning champions drawing twice in their last five games (with three wins). Chelsea currently sit second in the league, one point off the league leaders Manchester City and hope to retake first place in Liverpool. Similar to Liverpool, the blues’ last game also ended in a 1-1 draw following a late goal from Arsenal’s Alessia Russo. While Chelsea looked threatening in the first half, their defence looked threatened in the second, making it clear that while Chelsea is unbeaten in the league, it is possible to score against them. However, having said this, Chelsea have conceded the least goals in the WSL this season, with their average sitting at 0.5 [FotMob] compared to Liverpool’s 1.9.  

Head to Head: 

Although Liverpool and Chelsea usually find themselves at opposite ends of the table, this fixture never seems to disappoint. The last meeting back in May saw Chelsea take the three points, but not before a very late goal from Beever-Jones. Just before that in the FA Cup, Chelsea also won but again through a late Beever-Jones goal, after Liverpool took the lead in the 21^st minute through Smith (final score: 2-1). One of the most memorable matchups between these two teams came in May of 2024, Emma Hayes’ last season with Chelsea, where it ended in a 4-3 win to Liverpool. It only did this game deal a huge blow to Chelsea’s title hopes (although they did still go on to win the league), it also was home to four goals in the last 12 minutes (80’, 81’, 83’ and 90+2’). If the previous meetings between these two teams are anything to go off, the result of Sunday’s game is unpredictable. If Liverpool can prevent Chelsea from getting into their stride, then they could take more than a point from it, but if Chelsea score early, Liverpool could stay on one point.  

The game is available to watch on any Sky Sports channels with a kick off time of 12pm GMT on Sunday 16^th November. Will Chelsea reclaim top spot, or will Liverpool produce another shock against the Blues?