Liverpool and Chelsea meet in the Premier League on Saturday with Liverpool still needing points to confirm Champions League qualification, the report says. Arne Slot’s side arrive off a 3-2 loss to Manchester United and sit fourth with 58 points from 35 matches, per the report.
Chelsea have slipped to ninth and are without a win in their recent league fixtures, the report says. The club had looked poised for a Champions League place last month but have since dropped down the table and endured a six-match league losing run that has left their European prospects in doubt, the report says.
The match will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1 in the U.K., NBC in the U.S., JioHotstar in India and Stan Sport in Australia, the report says, with ESPN carrying live coverage online. Kick-off is listed as Saturday, May 9 at 12:30 p.m. BST (7:30 a.m. ET; 5 p.m. IST; and 9:30 p.m. AEST), per the report.
The report lists several injury concerns and absences: Alisson Becker – muscle injury, DOUBT; Alexander Isak – groin, DOUBT; Giorgi Mamardashvili – knee, OUT; Mohamed Salah – muscle injury, OUT; Hugo Ekitike – achilles injury, OUT; Conor Bradley – knee injury, OUT; Giovanni Leoni – knee, OUT; Stefan Bajcetic – hamstring, OUT; Wataru Endo – ankle, OUT; Estêvão – hamstring injury, OUT; Jamie Gittens – hamstring injury, OUT.
The report says Liverpool could have been closer to sealing Champions League qualification had they held a draw against Manchester United, but a late goal left them needing four more points. A win over Chelsea, who have scored only once in their last six league defeats, would largely complete the job for Slot. The report adds that Liverpool spent heavily in the previous summer on players including Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, and that confirmation of qualification would ease pressure on Slot; another defeat would increase it, with Aston Villa and Brentford to face in the final two fixtures, per the report.
