Liverpool might have confirmed itself as Premier League champion by hammering Spurs last weekend but Arne Slot and his players still have to play four more games.
The first of those is at Stamford Bridge this coming Sunday, with Enzo Maresca’s men very much still looking to earn more points in the chase for the European spots. Liverpool will hope to finish the campaign strongly, but after a couple of days of celebrations— returning to training for the first time earlier today — it is quite a hard game to predict.
Gary Neville, always keen to play down the Reds’ chances, believes a Chelsea win is likely. And he is expecting the home side to beat the newly-crowned champion, albeit by a narrow margin.
“I actually think Chelsea could win,” Neville predicted on the It’s Called Soccer podcast. “I’m imagining that Liverpool have had a massive party that’s probably not ended, to be fair… probably still going now.
“I suspect you have those drinks, those lads haven’t been drinking for a month or two. They’re just going to go absolutely go crazy, their bodies will just be in to shut down up until Wednesday, Thursday.
“They’re going to train a bit slower, a bit sloppier and I think they’ll just get edged out. I think it’ll be 2-1 to Chelsea.”
After predicting Chelsea to beat Liverpool, Neville also backed Chelsea’s talisman to grab a goal and end his drought. He added: “Scorer for Chelsea, I’ll go Cole Palmer.”
(Image: Sky Sports)
When Liverpool won the Premier League title in 2020, it lost its next game 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side gave the Reds a guard of honor before scoring three times in 20 minutes in the first half.
“Winning game after game after game, that’s the key,” Virgil van Dijk said in a press conference after the title was won. “It’s a whole team process, everyone has played a part.
“Obviously guys don’t always start the game but they come on and have impact. And not only the players, the staff obviously plays a big part.
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“But the people that are around us at the AXA Training Centre, the training ground. The fans. Everyone has to play a part. I think from day one when we started the season it was pretty obvious and pretty clear we have a big goal on our hands, big dreams and that we want to fulfil it.
“I’m glad we did. We got the big one. Amazing.”
Liverpool.com says: This is a really hard game to predict. Liverpool has defied the odds this season, though. Neville thought that Manchester United would finish above the Reds, so just because he thinks something might happen, it doesn’t mean it will…
