The Premier League champions travel to Stamford Bridge on their victory tour, though Arne Slot will not be keen for standards to drop against Champions League-chasing Chelsea.
Chelsea vs. Liverpool
Premier League (35) | Stamford Bridge
May 4, 2025 | 4.30pm (BST)
London, the champions are in town.
It has been a week full of celebrations, mostly for Liverpool supporters, but focus turns back to the action on the pitch on Sunday as the Reds meet Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea.
Here’s all you need to know about the penultimate away game of the season.
1. Slot will rotate now the league is won
With the title wrapped up with four games to spare, Slot has been handed the flexibility that comes with seeing the pressure for results dissipate.
That is not to say Liverpool should not be targeting as many points as possible, but the Reds boss is ready to use the fringe players who have predominantly been spectators this season.
“My lineups will be different than the one we’ve had mostly during the last 10 months as well,” Slot confirmed on Friday.
“We’re not going to change everyone, but there will be a few players that come into the team. There will be a certain rotation in the upcoming games.”
This will benefit the likes of Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliott, Jarell Quansah, Federico Chiesa and potentially Caoimhin Kelleher, Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha.
2. Conor Bradley ‘expected’ to be available
Conor Bradley missed out against Tottenham due to a knock in training last week and subsequently did not join his teammates for training on Wednesday.
Slot, however, is optimistic he will be able to name the Northern Irishman in his matchday squad at Chelsea – although it will rely on how he trained on Friday.
“He will train with us today [Friday], so that’s the first start and let’s see how he does,” Slot said.
“We expect him to be available. I don’t know if that means that he is available to start, but if all goes well today and tomorrow [Saturday] he will probably be in the squad.”
If Bradley proves his fitness, it will leave only Joe Gomez (hamstring) on the injury list.
3. The first guard of honour
By wrapping the league up with games to spare, Liverpool have earned the right to be welcomed onto the pitch with a guard of honour.
It is not compulsory but it is a show of respect and will need to be agreed upon ahead of the game as it dictates how the teams walk out of the tunnel.
And Maresca has confirmed Chelsea will oblige, saying: “They won the Premier League so they deserve it.”
Chelsea were one of seven teams to give Jurgen Klopp‘s Reds a guard of honour in 2019/20, but this time there will be fans in attendance for the tradition.
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4. Chelsea fighting for Champions League spot
Chelsea head into the fixture off the back of a 4-1 win in their Europa Conference League semi-final first leg in Sweden, which saw Maresca rest key players either from the start or during the match.
Cole Palmer came off the bench, as too Moises Caicedo, while Reece James, Enzo Fernandez, Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke were all taken off at halftime.
They could, however, be without goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and forward Christopher Nkunku for a match that remains significant for them as they’re currently in the race for Champions League football.
The Blues, currently fifth, have drawn two and won two of their last four league outings and sit ahead of Nottingham Forest only on goal difference.
Possible Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson
5. Predicted Liverpool lineup
With Slot revealing he will be rotating his team, it opens the door for a lot of options when it comes to his starting XI.
He won’t be making wholesale changes but the ones he does make, you sense will come in midfield and attack.
Endo, Elliott and Curtis Jones ought to come into midfield – though will Slot be willing to change the whole department? – while Darwin Nunez is in line for a chance up top.
It is a team that has enough to get the job done and still introduce the regular players off the bench as and when needed. Why not experiment, eh?
Predicted LFC XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Elliott, Jones; Salah, Diaz, Nunez
6. Slot: Title “big attraction” for signings
Liverpool are expected to have a busy summer ahead in the transfer window, and Slot spoke of how the title and the club’s fans have shown the Reds to be a “big attraction” for targets:
“I think the main advantage of winning the league is that, until now, if I spoke to players, new players that we wanted to bring in, I always told them that our fans are really special, that it’s special to play at this club.
“I think that was maybe not even necessary to tell them in the past, but after Sunday I don’t think I ever have to tell anyone again how special our fans are, because that was un-be-lievable.
“So, winning the league, having these fans, I think this is a big attraction to every player we want to bring in, and that’s definitely helpful.”
7. Records still to fight for
While Liverpool have already climbed the mountain, there is still plenty on the line in the games that remain.
If they pick up nine points from the remaining four games, they will register their third-biggest points haul in a title-winning season.
The Reds amassed 99 points in 2019/20 and 98 (converted to three points for a win) in 1978/79.
Slot, meanwhile, needs seven points from the last four fixtures to record the most points in a Reds manager’s first season in charge. Kenny Dalglish‘s team in 1985/86 earned 88 points.
8. Enzo Maresca a “dead man walking”
Chelsea are on the cusp of a place in the Europa Conference League final and are in contention for a top-five finish, but all is not well – as supporter Richard Long (@Chelseafan_Rick) told us:
“Enzo Maresca has now lost the vast majority of the fans and it feels like we are sleepwalking into his eventual departure.
“The football is reminiscent of “Sarri-ball” in that it focuses on possession, passing and controlling the game.
“Maresca refuses to adapt his style of football and continues to talk down what the team’s ambitions should be.
“This had led to fans feeling apathetic about the current team and season. Dead man walking!”
READ: Maresca “dead man walking” as Chelsea hope LFC still “on the piss”
9. Referee: Simon Hooper
Simon Hooper is the referee for the trip to Stamford Bridge, and while we have quite the history with him Liverpool have actually won all three games he has overseen this season.
As for Chelsea, he has been the referee for two of their league wins at home. He is averaging 4.6 yellow cards per game in the Premier League.
Adrian Holmes and Simon Long will be his touchline assistants, with Tony Harrington as fourth official and John Brooks as lead VAR.
10. How to follow the match with TIA!
Chelsea vs. Liverpool will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League in the UK, which you can stream here , with coverage getting underway at 4pm (BST) ahead of the 4.30pm kick off.
If you’d prefer more biased commentary on our champions, then be sure to join Harry McMullen on our live blog – he will be on hand to keep you entertained and informed from 3.45pm.
Into these, Reds!
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