Mohamed Salah can extend his imperious opening-day record when Liverpool travel to Chelsea for the opening game of the new Premier League season.
Salah is the only player to score on the opening weekend in six consecutive Premier League seasons and could do so again this season for a seventh!
His tally of eight opening day goals is a joint-Premier League record, equalled by Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard.
Moreover, no player has ever scored a hat-trick for Liverpool at Stamford Bridge – a record for the Egyptian to aim for, perhaps?
Start as you mean to go on
The Reds have won eight and drawn two of their last 10 opening-day fixtures since a 3-0 defeat at West Brom in 2012.
They have scored at least two goals each of the last seven opening-day outings.
Liverpool go into this game unbeaten in their last 11 league games since losing 4-1 at Man City back in April (seven wins, four draws).
Please, not another 0-0!
The Reds are two goals short of scoring 100 at Chelsea in all competitions and the next goal scored will be the 150th scored in Premier League fixtures between the teams.
However, this fixture has ended 0-0 in the last four successive games.
The meetings last season were the first time that both league encounters of the same league campaign failed to witness a goal in the Premier League era, and for the first time since 1971/72.
There have never been successive goalless draws in league encounters between the teams at Stamford Bridge nor three consecutive league draws.
A record that needs changing
Liverpool won six games in this competition on the road last season – their fewest number since five in 2010/11.
Their eight away league defeats in 2022/23 was their most during the tenure of Jurgen Klopp.
New season, new Chelsea…
Mauricio Pochettino has faced Liverpool 16 times in his career winning three. His first two victories came while with Southampton in March 2013 and the following September.
He has lost his last four against the Reds – one of those being Tottenham’s 2019 Champions League Final defeat.
Last season, Chelsea were managed by four different men for the first time in their history in a single season – Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Bruno Saltor (his only game came against Liverpool on this ground) and Frank Lampard.
Finally, Chelsea have won their last three opening day fixtures since losing 4-0 at Man United in 2019. A year ago they began their campaign with a 1-0 victory at Everton.
* Stats courtesy of LFC statistician Ged Rea (@ged0407).
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