Virgil van Dijk is determined for Liverpool to bounce back against Chelsea tomorrow and confirm a place in next season’s Champions League.
The Merseysiders head into the weekend with a six-point lead over sixth-placed Bournemouth and a superior goal difference. after last Sunday’s 3-2 defeat against Manchester United. A win over the struggling Londoners should be enough, although Aston Villa’s qualification for the Europa League final has also opened up the possibility that sixth place could be enough to secure a place in Europe’s top table.
Van Dijk said in the club’s matchday programme: “We know we still have work to do to secure qualification for the Champions League for next season, and we want to do it as soon as possible. “We have three games left to play and we want to win them all, starting on Saturday.
“Chelsea, like us, have struggled at times this season, but we know they have a lot of talent in their squad.
“They will be motivated after a disappointing result last weekend, and we know that we will have to give our best if we want to get the three points.
“As I said, that’s our goal, nothing more. This has been a very disappointing season, unacceptable in my opinion, but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. That’s not what Liverpool is about.
“We’re all frustrated, of course, but we want to try to end on a positive note, secure that Champions League spot and give them at least something to take away from a difficult campaign.”
Chelsea will be aiming for sixth place and will hope that will be enough to salvage something from a campaign that started brightly but has slipped alarmingly.
The Blues head to Anfield in ninth place and interim manager Calum McFarlane insists his players are eager to finish the season strongly.
He said: “We want to change things. We know the standards this club has set, but we are not meeting them at the moment. The only thing we can control is how we behave and act every day and how we work to change that level of performance.”
Chelsea fans attacked players during Monday’s 3-1 home defeat to Nottingham Forest and McFarlane accepts the performance was not good enough.
“I completely understand the feeling. We are just as disappointed and frustrated as they are,” he added. “I attribute it to not responding well enough to the early setbacks we had. We need to do much better in those moments because it’s happened before and it’s something we’ll address and try to improve on in the coming games.”
Team news for Liverpool-Chelsea
Alisson could return to goal for Liverpool, but Mohamed Salah remains out, as do Hugo Ekitiké, Wataru Endō, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni. Alexander Isak missed the match at Old Trafford and his availability is uncertain.
Reece James and Levi Colwill are candidates to start, but Jesse Derry and Robert Sanchez, who suffered head injuries against Forest, are out. Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho are big doubts.
Planned lineups for Liverpool-Chelsea
Liverpool: Alisson; Gómez, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Ngumoha; Gakpo
Chelsea: Jorgensen; James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Lavia, Caicedo, Palmer, Fernández, Pedro; Delap
Where to watch Liverpool vs Chelsea: TV and online streams
Kick-off on Saturday will be at 12.30pm UK time. In the UK, live coverage is on TNT Sports. Streaming takes place on the Discovery Plus app.
TNT Sports costs £30.99 a month, including Eurosport and entertainment, and is available on a wide range of devices including smart TVs and games consoles. As of March 26, TNT Sports streaming switched from Discovery Plus to HBO Max.
If you’re watching from outside the UK, click HERE for details of channels showing the game in your region.
Liverpool-Chelsea statistics
- Chelsea are looking to complete their first double against Liverpool since the 2013/14 season
- Chelsea have won one of their last 10 league trips to Anfield
- Chelsea have conceded in each of their last 13 Premier League games, their worst run since 1991.
