In August of last year, Mauricio Pochettino welcomed Jurgen Klopp's side to Stamford Bridge for his first home game in command of the Blues, which ended in an intriguing 1-1 stalemate. Liverpool won 5-2 at home against Norwich City in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday, their first game since Jurgen Klopp's shock declaration that he would step down at the end of the season. A ruthless Reds team took advantage of the Canaries' sloppy defensive play, with Curtis Jones, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Virgil van Dijk, and Ryan Gravenberch all scoring to help the eight-time FA Cup winners set up a favourable fifth-round home tie against either Watford or Southampton in late February. 

Klopp's side has extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to ten games, and they have only lost one of their previous 17 matches in the last two and a half months, but their mettle will be tested in back-to-back home league games against Chelsea and Arsenal in the space of five days. Liverpool currently sit two points clear at the top of the table with their closest challengers being Arsenal and Manchester City. Liverpool has every right to be optimistic heading into tonight's match, with a 22-game unbeaten league run at Anfield, but success is not certain, as there has been little to separate the Reds and the Blues in recent years. Indeed, the last seven encounters between the two clubs have all finished in draws, with four 0-0 stalemates in 90 minutes - the longest run of straight draws between two top-tier teams in English football history.

Chelsea were forced to settle for a goalless home draw with Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round last Friday, three days after securing their spot in the EFL Cup final with a thumping 6-1 semi-final second-leg victory over Middlesbrough. As has been the case at Chelsea this season, Mauricio Pochettino's side lacked a cutting edge in the final third and squandered several chances in front of goal, but an inspired performance from keeper Dorde Petrovic thwarted Aston Villa's late efforts to snatch a winner when the Blues appeared beat up in the final quarter of the match. While Chelsea deserves the accolades for their 10-game unbeaten streak at Stamford Bridge, their recent form on the road leaves much to be desired, as they travel to Anfield having lost five of their last six away fixtures in all competitions, conceding at least two goals in five of those matches. 

However, the Blues have only lost two of their last 11 visits to Anfield, with those defeats coming in April 2019 (2-0) and July 2020 (5-3), and they have also won a Premier League record 18 games against teams starting the day at the top of the table, which adds more thrill to the upcoming match. Chelsea are currently seated at position 9 in the Premier League table and only a win tonight can bring them closer to competing for European positions. 

(Image: Khel Now)