da pixbet： Liverpool have qualified for the Champions League final, where they will face Real Madrid in Kievn later this month but it has come at the expense of their league form in recent weeks.
da bet7： The Reds have taken just two points from two games against the Premier League’s bottom sides – West Brom and Stoke – which has given Chelsea a glimmer of hope in the race to qualify for Europe’s elite competition next time around.
If the Blues beat Jurgen Klopp’s men on Sunday and the Merseysiders then drop points in their final match of the season, at home to Brighton, by which point they may have more than one eye on Kiev, Antonio Conte’s men will be in the top four, provided they pick up maximum points from their two remaining fixtures.
Of course, if Liverpool overcome the might of Madrid, then they will then knock Chelsea out of the Champions League, in any case, but in the short term, the Reds’ mini-stumble has added intrigue to Sunday’s clash between the sides at Stamford Bridge that was not there a month ago.
So long as he isn’t rested by Klopp – and his pursuit of both club and divisional goalscoring records should ensure that he starts – Mo Salah will provide the biggest threat to Chelsea’s hopes of victory against a Reds side still buoyant from their pulsating 7-6 aggregate win over Roma in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The Egyptian international, fresh from putting one of his former sides to the sword, will have another old flame in his sights but the return of Marcus Alonso represents a major boost to Chelsea’s hopes of keeping him quiet and ensuring it is three consecutive goalless games for the prolific wideman.
The Spaniard, who is valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, and has reportedly attracted interest from Barcelona in recent days, should slot straight back in, replacing Emerson at left-wing-back and will have a crucial role in blocking off the space Salah plundered so effectively in the first leg against Roma at Anfield last week.
Former Manchester City man Aleksandar Kolarov’s aging legs meant he was not able to offer sufficient cover to the Italians’ back three as they attempted to keep Salah quiet but Alonso should be able to double up with another former Roma man, Antonio Rudiger, to limit the space for the forward to operate in.
However, the former Bolton man’s legs going the other way will be similarly important. Klopp admitted in midweek that Salah has less defensive responsibility than fellow forwards Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, which allows him to play as a second central striker.
That will allow Alonso to maraud forward and help overload Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has been vulnerable when targeted against Manchester United and Crystal Palace this season, by linking up with Eden Hazard.
Stopping Salah is one of the hardest tasks in world football right now but Alonso’s return could go a long way to helping Chelsea doing exactly that to keep their top four hopes alive.
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