Chelsea vs Liverpool: Premier League – teams, start, lineups

 Premier League holders Liverpool had lost their last two games visit Chelsea, who have lost their last two league games.

Who: Chelsea vs Liverpool
What: English Premier League
Where: Stamford Bridge in London, United Kingdom
When: Saturday, October 3, at 5:30pm (16:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 11:15 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.

Premier League champions Liverpool travel to Chelsea after a rare barren run under Arne Slot.

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The Dutchman led the Reds to their record-equalling title win last season – his first since replacing the popular Jurgen Klopp – but a recent blip has led to questions as to whether the club’s transition between managers will be more noticeable this term.

Chelsea, meantime, are hoping to build on their FIFA Club World Cup victory earlier this year, but have not had the smoothest start to the season themselves.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at the pick of the weekend’s Premier League fixtures.

What is Chelsea’s take on the visit of Liverpool?

Liverpool’s back-to-back losses over the last week have shown that they are vulnerable, but that will not make this weekend’s Premier League clash with the champions any easier for Chelsea, the London-based club’s manager Enzo Maresca said on Friday.

Leaders Liverpool started the league campaign with five straight wins but lost at Crystal Palace last Saturday, before a defeat away to Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday

Chelsea, who have lost their last two games in the top-flight and sit eighth in the table, seven points adrift of Liverpool, will look to build on the momentum from Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League win over Benfica at Stamford Bridge.

“There is a vulnerability about any team in the world, not just Liverpool. But if a team wins every game, it is impossible to catch them. Now, they lost one or two games. That shows vulnerability,” Maresca told a news conference before Saturday’s home game.

“I don’t think now it is better to play Liverpool. It is always a tough game, always a big team.”

Do Chelsea have a disciplinary problem?

Red cards have plagued Chelsea, with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez dismissed five minutes into the 2-1 defeat at Manchester United and Trevoh Chalobah being sent off in last weekend’s 3-1 loss to visiting Brighton & Hove Albion.

“Most of the games we didn’t get the points were because of the red cards. Also, the injury situation, we have eight players out. It’s a mixed combination, but we don’t have any doubt that slowly we will be again where we need to be,” Maresca said.

Has Chelsea’s blip surprised Maresca?

The Italian, who has led Chelsea to the UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup trophies this year, said he had enjoyed the start to the 2025-26 season despite the struggles.

“It’s normal. I am not thinking, [being] the Chelsea manager, everything is always going to be in place. You need to adjust, you need to evolve,” he added.

“I consider [Liverpool] the best team in England at the moment because they have shown that, and they won the Premier League. We are improving and trying to solve problems. For sure, in the end, we will be there and close.”