Will Chelsea give Liverpool a guard of honour this Sunday? Enzo Maresca shares Stamford Bridge plans

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Liverpool are set to receive their first guard of honour against Chelsea on Sunday after winning their second Premier League trophy.

The Reds moved level with rivals Manchester United on 20 English top-flight titles after smashing Tottenham 5-1 last weekend.

Chelsea gave John Terry his own guard of honour during his final game for the club
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Arne Slot claimed the domestic bragging rights in his first Premier League season with four matches still to go.

The Merseysiders have to wait until the final game of the campaign to lift the trophy, but have other ways to celebrate until then.

The most prevalent of those is the guard of honour, usually afforded to the new champions if they are crowned before the final fixture.

The sign of respect sees a team line up on parallel sides to applaud the Premier League winners as they walk out onto the pitch.

However, the tradition, while customary, is not officially compulsory, so it will be down to each team to decide whether to give one.

It is seen as a mark of respect between the two clubs, but opposing players are under no requirement to take part should they refuse.

Chelsea are the first club to face Slot’s side since they won the title, with a showdown between the two being held on Sunday.

Will Chelsea give Liverpool a guard of honour?

Blues head coach Enzo Maresca has confirmed he wants his team to show respect to the champions at Stamford Bridge this weekend.

“I think it’s a tradition, it’s something you have to do, and we want to do,” said Maresca, at his pre-match press conference.

“First of all, they won the league, so they deserve that, and hopefully we can be there [as champions] very soon.”

Guard of honours in English football

1955 – Man United give Chelsea guard of honour for Blues’ first title win

1972 – Leeds for Arsenal’s First Division and FA Cup Double in 1971

1974 – QPR for Leeds’ second First Division title

1979 – Leeds for Liverpool’s third title in four years

1991 – Arsenal for Man United winning the First Division title

2003 – Everton for Man United

2005 – Man United for Chelsea’s first Premier League title

2007 – Chelsea for Man United

2011 – Blackpool for Man United

2013 – Arsenal for Man United…and Robin van Persie

2015 – Liverpool for Chelsea

2016 – Everton and Chelsea for Leicester

2017 – Watford and Sunderland for Chelsea

2018 – Swansea, West Ham, Huddersfield and Brighton for Man City

2020 – Man City, Aston Villa, Brighton, Burnley, Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle for Liverpool

2021 – Newcastle and Everton for Man City

2023 – Chelsea for Man City

Liverpool were given a guard of honour at the Etihad when they had won the league early in 2020
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Roberto Firmino got his own personal guard of honour from his Liverpool teammates
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Chelsea were ironically the recipients of the first guard of honour when Man United provided one for them in 1955.

The west Londoners have since built a history of offering guards of honour, having done so most recently for Man City in 2023.

Both Chelsea and Liverpool have also already done it for the other, with the Reds staging it first in 2015, before the Blues followed suit five years later.

Virgil van Dijk and co then host Arsenal in their next fixture, who also gave them a guard of honour in 2020 at the Emirates.

Liverpool close out their season away at Brighton before hosting Crystal Palace at Anfield on the final day of the season.

Following that final encounter, Captain Van Dijk will lift the Premier League trophy.

It is their second during the Premier League era and a first in front of supporters since 1990.

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