In what is arguably the tie of the round, Liverpool welcome Chelsea to Anfield on Wednesday night in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.
Liverpool have responded in the perfect manner following their defeat at home to Manchester City in the Premier League a fortnight ago, with Andoni Iraola seeing his side win three games on the bounce.
Comeback victories away at Brentford and at home to Villarreal in the Premier League and Champions League respectively, were followed up by a 2-0 success at home to in-form Brighton on Sunday.
That victory at the weekend meant that the Reds leapfrogged Chelsea into fourth position in the Premier League table as the Blues suffered a rare defeat at home to London rivals Spurs on Saturday Night Football.
That loss put an end to Chelsea’s two-match winning run in the Premier League, having previously won at home to Bournemouth and in Merseyside against Liverpool’s rivals Everton.
Xabi Alonso’s visitors have seen off both Luton Town and Leeds United in the previous rounds winning, whilst Liverpool defeated Spurs 3-1 at Anfield last month.
How the bookies view it: Liverpool favourites
Liverpool are favourites to advance to the next round, with bet365 pricing the Reds at 3/4 To Qualify, whilst the win inside 90 minutes pays 5/4.
Chelsea are 1/1 to advance to the quarter-finals, with the win inside regulation time priced at 7/4.
Head to head: Three unbeaten for Chelsea
Chelsea are unbeaten in each of their previous three meetings with Liverpool (W2-D1-L0).
However, the Blues have historically struggled at Anfield and have won on just two of their last 13 visits to the red half of Merseyside.
Players to watch: Isak to do the business again?
Alexander Isak did the business for me at the weekend, as I successfully backed him at 13/10 to score against Brighton.
That takes his tally to six in the Premier League this season, and the 11/8 on offer at bet365 for the Swedish international to score again at Anfield appeals to me should he start.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Liverpool are still missing Jeremie Frimpong, Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Dominik Szoboszlai due to injury, whilst both Victor Munoz and Florian Wirtz are doubts.
Chelsea will be without the injured Emi Martinez and Reece James, as well as the suspended Cole Palmer, whilst Joao Pedro is a doubt.
Liverpool: Mamardashvili, Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Ngumoha, Nyoni, Barcola, Isak
Chelsea: Penders, Acheampong, Lacroix, Colwill, Neto, Henderson, Caicedo, Hato, Estevao, Rogers, Welbeck
Anything else catch the eye?
As alluded to, Liverpool have made the perfect response to that loss at home to Manchester City a fortnight ago, winning each of their last four matches in all competitions, scoring 14 goals in the process.
Going further back, that win over Brighton also made it eight wins from their last 10 in all competitions for Andoni Iraola’s side, and I fancy them to progress against an inconsistent Chelsea side.
The Blues have shipped 2+ goals in 7/9 (78%) of their clashes against Premier League opposition this season, and the 8/11 on offer at bet365 for Liverpool to Score Over 1.5 Goals also appeals.
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