There haven’t been many strengths for Chelsea in the Premier League this season, but like the rest of the division, they have leaned more towards set pieces and corners, in particular, as a route to goal. 

Much has been made of Chelsea’s recent poor record in front of goal, a duck that was only broken by Joao Pedro’s brilliant overhead kick against Forest last time out, but they’re still creating chances and winning corners despite being unable to get on the scoresheet in five of their last six Premier League matches.

Chelsea racked up seven corners in their 2-1 win over Liverpool earlier in the season, and are averaging 5.41 corners per game across their 17 away matches in the Premier League this term. Anfield is also not the fortress it once was under Slot this term, Liverpool are conceding 5.12 corners per game at home and have looked pretty vulnerable from those situations.

Robert Sanchez picked up a nasty injury in Chelsea’s embarrassing 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest last time out after colliding with Morgan Gibbs-White, so we can expect Filip Jorgensen to step into the Chelsea net here, which will be real encouragement for a Liverpool side who managed to draw three saves from Senne Lammens last time out.

Liverpool don’t have the full complement of their star attacking players, but any team in the Premier League is capable of causing this petulant and deflated Chelsea side problems. Arne Slot’s side are averaging 4.50 shots on target per game in the Premier League this term, which isn’t a strong record compared to the numbers they posted last season, but it’s enough to draw a few saves from Jorgensen, who will sit behind a nervy Chelsea backline.

Jorgensen has only started two games in the Premier League this season, which tells you a bit about how he is seen at Chelsea, and has been forced into making six saves across those matches (1.88 per 90). I think Liverpool will be encouraged by Chelsea having to go with their second-string keeper, potentially leading to the home side taking on more speculative efforts, which Jorgensen can handle even if his overall level isn’t suitable for a club like Chelsea. 

Joao Pedro is probably the only Chelsea player that has enjoyed a positive 2026 so far, with the forward netting 15 goals in the Premier League this season - the majority of which have come since the turn of the year. 

This record is particularly impressive as none of Joao Pedro’s goals have come from the penalty spot, I didn’t think he would be capable of being a striker that could get you 20 goals in a season, but he’s proved me wrong and is Chelsea’s biggest threat in front of goal, with the likes of Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho all misfiring. 

Joao Pedro has taken 68 shots in the Premier League this season (2.45 per 90), seeing 28 of those efforts find the target (1.01 per 90). He scored a brilliant overhead kick against Nottingham Forest last time out, showing that he is still playing with confidence, which can’t really be said for the majority of the squad. 

I come back to this angle almost every week - it’s remained around this price point all season, despite Gravenberch maintaining a very consistent fouls won record across the campaign. He was fouled once when Liverpool visited Stamford Bridge earlier in the season, and will face off against a combative midfield trio of Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo here.

Caicedo is as short as 1.13 to commit a foul, and his midfield partner Lavia, is only slightly ahead at 1.2. Gravenberch wins fouls due to his brilliant ability in tight spaces; he can create space with a single turn and quickly get Liverpool on the attack.

Gravenberch has won 39 fouls across his 31 Premier League starts this season (1.27 per 90) and should attract attention from Chelsea’s midfield when trying to turn defence into attack for Liverpool - one of his best skills as a midfielder for the Reds.

Dominik Szoboszlai has been Liverpool’s best player this season, something that he showed with his brilliant goal against United last week, as Liverpool fell to a 3-2 defeat against their rivals last time out. That strike took Szoboszlai’s goal tally to six for the season, equalling his goal output in the Premier League from last campaign.

This campaign overall has been Szoboszlai’s best scoring season in a Liverpool shirt, with the Hungarian netting 13 goals across all competitions - bettering his tallies of seven and eight in the last two seasons. He’s also notably picked up more yellow cards than any other Liverpool player this term (eight), with one of those cautions coming in Liverpool’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea earlier in the season. 

Enzo Fernandez has been pretty good for Chelsea this season, but like many Chelsea players, has let himself down with his attitude and general petulance - which can be seen through his card record this campaign.

Fernandez has picked up eight yellow cards in the Premier League for Chelsea this season, only his midfield partner in Moises Caicedo (10), has picked up more cautions than the Argentine, who is more likely to pick up a card in these high profile matches - with a few of his cards this season coming from dissent in Chelsea’s poor performances in the second half of the campaign.

Fernandez has already collected cautions against the likes of Manchester United, Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City this season - showing how his tendency to lose control of his emotions is particularly strong in big games, fuelled further by the poor form Chelsea are displaying at the moment.

Joao Pedro has been one of the few decent players for Chelsea in 2026, he’s progressed up the scoring charts despite playing for a side that are struggling for goals without his presence. He’s also very strong when it comes to winning fouls, this is a part of his game that has improved as the season has unfolded and can come to the fore again here. 

Joao Pedro was fouled once when the sides met earlier in the campaign, and has won an impressive 51 fouls across his 29 starts in the Premier League this season (1.84 per 90). I’m particularly interested in his battles against Ibrahima Konate as his main opponent, but also Alexis Mac Allister, who will be tasked with dealing with Joao Pedro when he drops into those deeper pockets of the pitch.