Liverpool vs Chelsea LIVE: Premier League latest score and updates as Reece James starts for

Liverpool host Chelsea at Anfield hoping to maintain their spot at the top of the Premier League table. Arne Slot has had a fantastic start to his tenure as Liverpool manager with six wins from his first seven top-flight outing.

The Reds came into the weekend with a slender lead over Manchester City and Arsenal though the Gunners failed to capitalise when they slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday evening.

Liverpool’s last outing was a 1-0 away win at Crystal Palace and Slot will hope that his players have had sufficient recovery time over the international break ahead of what is undoubtedly the biggest test the Reds have faced yet with Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea flying in the league.

The former Leicester City manager has settled nicely at Stamford Bridge steering the Blues to four wins from their seven matches and beating Liverpool will be his biggest statement so far. The hosts ran away 4-1 winners in the same fixture last season so Chelsea have their work cut out this afternoon.

Follow all the Premier League action with our live blog below:

Liverpool vs Chelsea LIVE

• Liverpool host Chelsea in the Premier League with kick off at 4.30pm

• Reds come into weekend top of the table with six wins from seven

• Chelsea have made a strong start to life under Enzo Maresca and hope for statement win at Anfield

• Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Jota, Gakpo

• Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James, Tosin, Colwill, Gusto; Lavia, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson

Liverpool FC 0 – 0 Chelsea FC

KICK-OFF! Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea

16:32 , Chris Wilson

KICK-OFF!

The away get us underway on Merseyside.

Liverpool vs Chelsea LIVE

16:28 , Chris Wilson

Richard Jolly at Anfield:

“Arne Slot may have learnt the lesson of Liverpool’s defeat to Nottingham Forest by benching their three South Americans today for the first game after an international break – though Alexis Mac Allister, who felt ill on the plane back from representing Argentina, was not ready to start anyway. For Chelsea, Reece James’ first start of the season means there will be a focus on the injury-hit captain in a suspension-hit defence.”

Liverpool vs Chelsea LIVE

16:25 , Chris Wilson

The teams are in the tunnel at Anfield, so we’re only moments from kick-off.

Match facts

16:23 , Chris Wilson

Chelsea have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games against Liverpool (drawing five and losing three.

Along with Liverpool, Chelsea are one of two sides with a 100% away win rate in the Premier League this season.

Only Manchester City (17) have scored more goals than Chelsea (16) in the division this term, and only Tottenham boast a higher xG (15.0) than the Blues (14.7).

Enzo Maresca is looking to become only the fifth manager to win each of his first four away Premier League games, with one of the previous four to do so being his counterpart in this match, Liverpool’s Arne Slot.

Chelsea pair Cole Palmer (11) and Noni Madueke (4) have created 15 chances for each other in the Premier League this season, the most of any duo.

Match facts

16:18 , Chris Wilson

Liverpool are unbeaten in their last six Premier League meetings with Chelsea, though five of these have ended level. Having lost three consecutive league games against Chelsea between 2013 and 2014, the Reds have now lost just two of their last 19, winging seven and drawing 10.

Liverpool have conceded the fewest goals (two), kept the most clean sheets (five), and have the lowest expected goals against figure (5.2) of any side in the Premier League this season.

Mohamed Salah has four goals in 13 Premier League games against his former side, averaging a goal every 257 minutes against the Blues. He only has a worse minutes-per-goal rate against Burnley.

Is Liverpool v Chelsea on TV?

16:15 , Chris Wilson

A reminder of how you can watch the late-afternoon match today – we’re around 15 minutes from kick-off.

Liverpool vs Chelsea is due to kick off at 4:30pm BST on Sunday 20 October at Anfield.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage on these channels beginning at 4pm. Subscribers can stream the action on Sky Go or Now TV.

What the managers have said

16:10 , Chris Wilson

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said that today’s match “is a special game for all of the clubs”.

“Liverpool is a nice environment, fantastic. We are excited to play this kind of game. All the games we have played until now have not been easy. We are going to do our best.

“I don’t think Sunday’s game defines where we are. In this moment, we have to be focused on things we need to improve.

“We have Liverpool and then two or three more games. Nottingham wasn’t an easy game, or Brighton, West Ham away or Bournemouth away.

“[The] Premier League is the best league in the world and the toughest league in the world,” he added.

When asked on how he feels about his club’s start to the season, the Italian said: “[I’m] very happy because what I expected in terms of players, level and style, I can see clearly that is there.

“It doesn’t matter in this moment who is going to play, you can see clearly how we want to play.”

What the managers have said

16:05 , Chris Wilson

Speaking in a press conference ahead of today’s game, Arne Slot said that he is “looking forward to a very interesting game”.

“Chelsea does really well. If you look at the league table then they are the ones that might be our toughest opponent.

“But it’s not always about the league table. Sometimes it’s about the form of the day, it’s about their game plan.

“We had some difficulty with Wolves as well, who are bottom of the league, I think. But it is a challenge, that’s for sure,” he added.

When speaking about Liverpool’s tough run of upcoming fixtures, he said: “I think we have to judge us as a team after this spell of games – not three of them but six, seven or eight of them.

“Then we know better how we act and how we perform if we play tough Champions League games and tough league games.

“That is normal in everybody’s season and we know how difficult it is.”

Conor Bradley has fond memories of Liverpool’s ‘special’ games with Chelsea

16:00 , Chris Wilson

Liverpool’s clash with Chelsea on Sunday will bring back special memories for Conor Bradley.

Fresh from captaining Northern Ireland in Tuesday’s 5-0 rout of Bulgaria in Belfast, the 21-year-old has returned to the club’s Kirkby training ground with a spring in his step before their next Premier League match.

Taking the armband for his country was just the latest step in Bradley’s outstanding 2024, and two meetings with Chelsea feature prominently in that story.

The first came on January 31 in a 4-1 win over the Londoners at Anfield, as Bradley got his first Liverpool goal and added two assists in a man-of-the-match display.

Conor Bradley has fond memories of Liverpool’s ‘special’ games with Chelsea

Arne Slot confident uncertainty over future of key Liverpool trio will not prove a distraction

15:55 , Chris Wilson

Arne Slot insisted he will be involved in contract talks with Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah by saying it would be “weird” if he was not consulted and shrugging off suggestions the right-back would be distracted as Real Madrid’s interest in him has become more public.

Liverpool’s captain, vice-captain and top scorer are all out of contract at the end of the season but Slot is adamant it is not an issue for him and he would only be worried if he reached the last day of the campaign with their futures still up in the air.

The Dutchman is Liverpool’s first head coach – predecessor Jurgen Klopp’s job title was manager and he had more control, albeit without getting his way when he wanted to keep Roberto Firmino and James Milner in 2023 – meaning sporting director Richard Hughes will assume overall responsibility for talks with the three key players. Slot confirmed, though, that he will play a part in discussions.

Arne Slot confident uncertainty over future of key trio will not prove a distraction

Chelsea cannot rely on Cole Palmer to solve all problems – Enzo Maresca

15:50 , Chris Wilson

Enzo Maresca warned his Chelsea players they cannot rely on Cole Palmer to “solve all our problems” as they prepare for a gruelling run of Premier League fixtures, beginning with Sunday’s meeting with Liverpool.

Following the game at Anfield, in which the head coach will be without suspended pair Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana in defence, the Blues play Newcastle at home before travelling to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.

Arsenal then visit Stamford Bridge to round off a three-week spell in which the potential in evidence during Maresca’s first seven games will receive a thorough inspection, with the team’s top-four credentials put to the test.

Chelsea cannot rely on Cole Palmer to solve all problems – Enzo Maresca

Liverpool vs Chelsea head-to-head

15:45 , Chris Wilson

These two sides have met a total of 190 times, with meetings dating back to Christmas Day in 1907.

As ist stands, Liverpool have won 90, with Chelsea winning 61. 49 have ended as draws.

As alluded to earlier, the two teams have had a range of high-profile meetings, from Champions League semi-finals to last season’s Carabao cup final, which Liverpool won 1-0.

In the league last season, the two sides drew 1-1 at Stamford Bridge in their league opener, while Liverpool won the return fixture 4-1 in January.

What Liverpool’s brutal seven-game run will reveal about their season under Arne Slot

15:40 , Chris Wilson

The best beginning to a reign made by any Liverpool manager is only a start. Arne Slot has found ways of deflecting the compliments his immediate impact at Anfield has generated. He has referenced the reality that some of his predecessors’ medal collections are sufficiently impressive that they do not need to be judged by their first 10 games or an early-season status as league leaders. He has cited the relatively kind fixture list: Liverpool have played the teams currently occupying 17th, 11th, 14th, 10th, 13th, 20th and 18th places. Their Carabao Cup win was against the club in 12th. Their Champions League victories were against the sides sitting sixth and 13th respectively in Serie A.

And now it gets harder. Liverpool’s next month amounts…