Having defeated Everton at Stamford Bridge last week, the second of our double-header against Merseyside opposition sees Arne Slot's Liverpool visit west London.

The Blues were edged out 2-1 in the reverse fixture at Anfield in early October. Nicolas Jackson struck for Chelsea that day and the Senegal international has rediscovered his goalscoring touch after netting against Everton and grabbing a brace in our Conference League semi-final first leg against Djurgarden.

European football remains on the mind for Liverpool's visit, as the Blues continue in our quest to secure a top-five finish that would guarantee Champions League football for next season.

We head into the encounter at the Bridge unbeaten in five league outings and, with the right results elsewhere this weekend, a victory over the Reds could lift Maresca's side to fourth in the Premier League table with three matches to play.

Notably, this is the Blues’ sixth prime-time Sunday slot of the campaign and our first since the thrilling 4-3 victory at Tottenham in December.

Race for the Champions League (Max points possible)

Chelsea team news

The Blues head coach confirmed in his pre-match press conference that long-term absentees Marc Guiu and Aaron Anselmino remain unavailable for Liverpool's visit.

Robert Sanchez and Christopher Nkunku were both absent from the squad for our Conference League clash in Stockholm on Thursday, and Maresca said both would be assessed ahead of tomorrow's encounter.

‘Christo Nkunku has a small problem,' the Italian said on Thursday. ‘When we get back to Cobham, the medical staff will tell me how he is and what his status is. He wasn’t with us in Sweden.

‘It is exactly the same for Robert Sanchez too, although he is working on the pitch so compared to Christo, he is in a better situation. He wasn’t with us in Sweden either and we will see and assess them both before Sunday.’

The history

Matches between Chelsea and Liverpool at this stage of the season are often loaded with importance beyond the perennially fierce rivalry.

Perhaps the most famous example came at Stamford Bridge on 11 May 2003. The Blues, fourth ahead of the visiting Reds in fifth, hosted an end-of-season Champions League qualification decider worth an estimated £20 million to the winners.

The Londoners only needed a draw, so Marcel Desailly's leveller from Jesper Gronkjær’s cross, which cancelled out Sami Hyypia’s opener, would have sufficed. However, Gronkjær soon steered in Chelsea’s second and Steven Gerrard was cheered off after his second bookable offence in six second-half minutes.

Each side has formed a guard of honour for the other in recent years. A week after Jose Mourinho steered the Londoners to a fifth Premier League crown, the Reds applauded the new champions onto the pitch at the Bridge.

Five years later in July 2020, behind Anfield’s closed doors because of the lockdown, the visiting Blues did the same for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Chelsea’s current winless run of ten games against Liverpool is the longest since 11 between 1985 and 1990.

Thirty-four years ago exactly, 4 May 1991, a Chelsea victory broke that sequence at the Bridge in glorious fashion: two classic Kerry Dixon headers, a Dennis Wise penalty and a well-worked fourth for Gordon Durie.

Former Blue David Speedie was among the visitors’ scorers in a famous 4-2 and Graeme Souness’s first defeat since returning to Anfield as manager ended the Reds’ hopes of pipping Arsenal to the league title.

Know this...

Following last Saturday’s victory in which he gathered six Everton crosses, Sanchez has the fourth-most high claims (39) in the Premier League season.

No player over the age of 27 has featured in any of Chelsea’s 34 Premier League matches so far, which is unprecedented. The previous record was six matches in April/May 2000 by Liverpool.

At 16 years and 193 days, Cobham graduate Reggie Walsh became the Blues’ third-youngest ever debutant when he came on as a substitute in the 4-1 win at Djurgarden on Thursday.

The Reds’ last league defeat in May was a 1-0 win for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 2018.

A guard of honour to applaud the English league champions onto the field was first performed by Manchester United for Ted Drake’s Chelsea at Old Trafford on 30 April 1955.

Westview tickets for the home leg of our UEFA Conference League semi-final are on sale for £60pp, available exclusively to CFC Members. Hospitality packages are available on general sale here, starting from £160pp.