Premier League midweek preview: Chelsea and Liverpool clash in battle of beleaguered giants

There were goals galore in the Premier League last weekend, including big wins for leaders Arsenal and their chasing rivals Manchester City, and on Tuesday the action returns with several big clashes.

Liverpool were on the wrong end of a 4-1 beating by City on Saturday and we preview their Tuesday night clash with Chelsea as they bid to bounce back, as well as two other midweek games.

Chelsea v Liverpool – 20:00 Tuesday

Chelsea host Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening, for their first game of the post-Graham Potter era. Potter became the second Blues manager to lose his job this season after Chelsea’s 2-0 loss to Aston Villa, with his tenure lasting just 206 days, the fifth shortest of any manager at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League era.

Chelsea have only won three of their last 10 games in the league, and currently occupy 11th place in the table, meaning they are on course for their worst finish since 1996. That’s not something new owner Todd Boehly would have contemplated at the start of the season, so Potter’s sacking comes as no surprise. However, as is so often the case after a manager departs a struggling team, there could be a quick resurgence in form, and Chelsea are 29/20 to get a crucial win on the board.

Liverpool also come into this clash needing to bounce back from a dismal performance last weekend, when they were comprehensively outplayed by Manchester City. Jurgen Klopp’s side have had many problems of their own this season, leaving them well off the pace in eighth place. They are 7/4 to take all three points here.

The last three meetings between these side have ended in goalless draws, and another 0-0 is priced at 12/1. Kai Havertz and Joao Felix will have other ideas though, with the Chelsea duo joint-favourites at 9/5 to score at anytime. Darwin Nunez hasn’t set the Premier League alight like many expected this season, but the Uruguayan international is still most likely to net for Liverpool at 2/1.

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West Ham v Newcastle – 20:00 Wednesday

West Ham and Newcastle couldn’t have had much more contrasting seasons to date, with the Hammers still very much in a relegation scrap, while Newcastle have their sights firmly set on the Champions League.

Eddie Howe’s Magpies come into this fixture on the back of a three-game unbeaten run in the league, including an impressive 2-0 win over Manchester United last weekend. They dominated their top four rivals there, having 22 attempts on goal to United’s six, and will surely be high on confidence after that. At 23/20, they travel to east London as the strong favourites.

West Ham have had something of a resurgence in recent games and are unbeaten in four games in all competitions. They narrowly got the better of relegation rivals Southampton on Sunday, but the in-form Newcastle are sure to provide a much sterner test, and David Moyes’ side are 12/5 underdogs to secure the win.

Manchester United v Brentford – 20:00 Wednesday

While Manchester United look a much-improved side this season under Erik ten Hag, they are still prone to throw in the odd poor performance. A 7-0 thrashing by Liverpool and last weekend’s limp defeat to Newcastle illustrate this only too well and they will need to get back on track with both Newcastle and Tottenham challenging them for Champions League places.

However, both those poor performances have come away from Old Trafford, and they have looked a different team at home this season, losing only once, compared to six defeats on the road. That bodes well for them to bounce back on Wednesday when Brentford visit, and they are very strong favourites at 6/10 to record a win.

Of course, it was Brentford that inflicted one of United’s biggest defeats this season, when beating them 4-0 in August. Thomas Frank’s side have only lost once in their last 10 league games and won’t go down without a fight, so could prove to be some value at 9/2 to take a maximum six points from United this season. A draw is priced at 3/1.

Brentford’s tie with Brighton at the weekend saw six goals and there could be plenty at Old Trafford too, with this fixture 13/8 to feature over 3.5 goals. After his brilliant scoring run in January and February, Marcus Rashford has failed to score in his last three, but could put that right at just 10/11 to find the net on Wednesday evening.

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