Chelsea v Liverpool: Live matchday blog
Liverpool restore their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. N'Golo Kante pulled one back for the hosts after first-half strikes from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino, but the Reds held on to claim a big win.
Liverpool restore their five-point lead at the Premier League summit after a 15th top-flight victory in a row...
Here's how Opta saw today's game...
Full Time
Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool
Liverpool hold on to pick up a huge victory at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.
In what was a hard-fought contest, the Reds went 2-0 up in the first half through goals from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino. The Blues, meanwhile, had a Cesar Azpilicueta effort ruled out through a VAR decision.
N'Golo Kante did get one back for Chelsea in the second period, but the visitors clinched the victory.
Yellow Card
Alonso booked for halting a 40-yard run forward from Robertson to break up the Chelsea pressure.
Substitution
Joe Gomez replaces Mohamed Salah for the final minutes,
Four minutes of added time to be played...
Chance
Another good chance for Chelsea. Alonso slides in Mount, who scoops over the bar when it looked certain he'd score.
Chance
Hearts in mouths time for Liverpool as Batshuayi heads inches wide of the far post.
Yellow Card
Milner goes into the book.
Substitution
Adam Lallana comes on for Henderson for the final moments at Stamford Bridge...
Adrian keeps out an Alonso header from point-blank range following a Mount free-kick... but the Chelsea man is flagged offside anyway.
Yellow Card
Fabinho goes into the book for a pull on Batshuayi.
Substitution
Chelsea's final change sees Batshuayi come on for Abraham.
Substitution
Milner is on for Mane for Liverpool.
Goal
Goal for Chelsea - N'Golo Kante
The home side get one back as their pressure finally pays off.
Kante drives towards the edge of the Reds' area before stabbing an effort into the top corner to reduce the visitors' advantage.
James Milner is being readied to come on here.
Superb defending from Alexander-Arnold to prevent Mount from heading in from close range.
Chelsea still applying the pressure, here.
Wijnaldum scoops over the bar left-footed from the edge of the box.
Chelsea are beginning to mount some sustained pressure here.
Kante drags a low shot just wide from a half-cleared corner.
Yellow Card
Alexander-Arnold goes into the book.
Zouma inadvertantly deflects a cross towards his own goal, but Kepa manages to keep it out.
The flag is raised on the far side, however.
Mane glances a header over from Fabinho's ball into the box.
Chance!
Firmino side-foots Alexander-Arnold's return ball from a corner goalwards, but he's denied by a fine stop from Kepa.
Kick-Off
Back under way...
Chelsea re-start the game at Stamford Bridge.
Here's how Opta saw the first half...
Half Time
Chelsea 0-2 Liverpool
An eventful first half comes to a close at Stamford Bridge, with Liverpool leading 2-0.
Trent Alexander-Arnold's rasping drive from a free-kick routine put them ahead on 14 minutes.
Chelsea had an effort ruled out by VAR when Cesar Azpilicueta thought he had levelled, before Roberto Firmino headed in the visitors' second.
Three minutes of additional time to be played at the end of the first half.
Abraham heads over from Azpilicueta's cross.
Substitution
Chelsea are forced into a second change as Christensen limps off.
He was injured by Tomori when blocking that earlier Salah shot.
Zouma is his replacement.
Chance
Alexander-Arnold sends Salah speeding into the area. He cuts inside and shoots for the corner, but he's denied by a fine block by Christensen.
Yes, lads
Goal
GOAL! ROBERTO FIRMINO!
Liverpool make the most of their reprieve by going up the other end and making it 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Another set-piece sees Alexander-Arnold back-heel to Robertson, who swings in a cross from the left which Firmino plants home from close range with his head.
Get in.
Disallowed Goal
No goal!
Azpilicueta's effort will not stand - it has been ruled out by VAR for offside.
An even bigger let-off for Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
Goal
Chance
A big opportunity for Chelsea to draw level as Christensen's pass sends Abraham clean through on goal, but he's thwarted by Adrian.
A real let-off for the Reds.
Boom
Another stat...
Liverpool have scored 33 Premier League goals from set pieces since the start of last season - six more than any other team.
Yellow Card
Tomori goes into the book for a late challenge on Henderson.
Stat
Trent Alexander-Arnold has been involved in 12 goals in his last 17 Premier League appearances (one goal, 11 assists).
Substitution
Emerson makes way for Marcos Alonso for the home team, presumably due to an early knock.
Goal
GOAL! TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD!
Wow. What a hit.
Mane wins a free-kick on the edge of the area and Salah steps up as though he's going to hit it, but instead rolls it back to Alexander-Arnold, who absolutely smashes it into the top corner.
An incredible strike from our No.66 - and it's 1-0 to the Reds.
Mount sends in a low ball from the left which evades Abraham at the near post and is cut out by Robertson before it can reach Willian at the back stick
It's been a bit of a cagey start here at Stamford Bridge, although Liverpool are dominating the ball.
No chances so far, however.
Henderson sweeps a clever ball across the pitch looking for Mane's run into the area, but Azpilcueta manages to clear for the hosts on the stretch.
Kick-Off
And we're off
Liverpool begin the game at Stamford Bridge.
Come on you Reds!
Here come the teams at Stamford Bridge...
Warming up...
AXA - LFC principal partner and official training kit partner
Listen live
As ever, we have free commentary on today's match, with Steve Hunter joined by Reds legend John Aldridge to call the action as Liverpool take on Chelsea.
Click here to tune in - simply register for access.
The Reds arrive at the Bridge...
The formations
Opta expect the two teams to shape up like so...
A peek inside the dressing room...
TEAM NEWS
Liverpool's teamsheet is in and shows one change from the midweek defeat at Napoli as Georginio Wijnaldum returns to replace James Milner in midfield.
Rhian Brewster is on the substitutes' bench.
Liverpool: Adrian, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Henderson, Mane, Salah, Firmino.
Subs: Kelleher, Milner, Gomez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lallana, Shaqiri, Brewster.
Ask Gini
Pre-match media duties are handled by Georginio Wijnaldum at Stamford Bridge today.
Hendo's focus
Five wins out of five have seen Liverpool set the early Premier League pace - but, ahead of the trip to Chelsea, Jordan Henderson insisted his team are sticking with the old adage of one game at a time.
"Of course we want to win the league and win as many trophies as we can," the captain told Sky Sports. "With the team and the manager that we've got, there's no reason why we can't do that.
"But there's no point in focusing on that. The focus remains the next game. It's been the case for the last few years and it's stood us in good stead so far."
Coming soon
We'll have the confirmed Liverpool starting XI and subs directly from the away dressing room at 3.30pm BST.
A year ago today...
Exactly 365 days ago, Liverpool ran out 3-0 winners against Southampton at Anfield.
Watch highlights of that game below.
Weather
And on that note...
...it's time for the official Liverpoolfc.com Weather Update Alert.
Well, you've probably gathered it's a bit wet here at Stamford Bridge as heavy rain pours from the sky.
We've checked our much travelled and ever trusty thermometer and the mercury is around the 17-degree mark.
From what we understand, it's unlikely to change much over the course of the afternoon, although we expect the rain may ease off.
So, dress accordingly.
Pitch perfect
A rain-soaked Stamford Bridge is ready for this afternoon's contest...
Fernando Torres' combined Liverpool/Chelsea XI
Another interesting snippet in today's programme is a feature with former Reds and Chelsea striker Fernando Torres.
The Spaniard is asked to pick a combined XI from the players he counted as teammates at Anfield and Stamford Bridge - and this is the side he opts for...
Reina - Ivanovic, Terry, Hyypia, Cole - Alonso, Lampard, Gerrard - Kuyt, Benayoun, Drogba.
Lampard: Liverpool are the form team in the country
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard makes his admiration for Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool clear in his programme notes this afternoon.
"We go up against the form team in the country today, with a fantastic manager and a lot of talented individuals among their ranks, so it's a great test for us but we want three points from this match," Lampard writes.
"I thought we had a really tight game against them in the Super Cup last month. We ended up losing that one on a penalty shootout, but it could easily have gone the other way that night and I think we'll need a similar sort of performance here at Stamford Bridge to beat a good team."
Inside Training
LFCTV GO subscribers can go behind the scenes at Liverpool's Friday afternoon training session with our exclusive footage from Melwood below...
Stamford Bridge stunners
Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge have added to this list with glorious goals in recent years, but our 2016 choice of 10 memorable Premier League goals at Chelsea still features plenty of crackers...
Trent targeting more goals
It's 10 months since Trent Alexander-Arnold last increased his Liverpool goal tally and the No.66 - so often a provider for his teammates - is eager to chip in more regularly.
"Scoring more goals is something I'd like to improve," he said.
"The modern-day full-back needs to be so attacking, needs to offer a lot to the side, whether that be chances created, assists, passes, through balls. Why not take it a step further and add four or five goals in to help the team?"
Klopp on Lampard and Chelsea
The Reds boss was full of respect for his opposite number when asked about Frank Lampard and Chelsea at his pre-match press conference.
"They played a different system in the last two games to the first few games. They changed the system in a very busy period of the year, that's interesting; of course, he has the players for it," said Klopp.
"How I said, [they are] a really exciting football team – young but good, really good. For me, it's not a surprise. I said it before – and people probably think I only said it because I'm polite – but it's not polite, it's the truth, he did an outstanding job at Derby. So I'm not surprised that he's doing a really good job at Chelsea as well.
"But it's a difficult league and we have to prove our quality pretty much in a three-day rhythm. Sometimes it works out and sometimes not, we know that as well. I really think he's a really, really good manager."
Good luck to LFC Women this afternoon as they get their Continental Cup campaign under way with a home match against Sheffield United Women.
Kick-off is 12pm BST at Prenton Park - keep an eye on Liverpoolfc.com for updates.
Elsewhere today
The meeting at Stamford Bridge is one of four Premier League matches taking place today - see the full fixture schedule below.
As it stands
The Reds lead the way in the Premier League, two points ahead of Manchester City having played one game fewer than the reigning champions.
Tale of the tape
Take a look through all the numbers from the two sides' opening five Premier League games of the season...
Stat attack
- Sadio Mane is one goal away from reaching 50 in the Premier League for Liverpool
- Victory at Stamford Bridge would set a new club record of seven successive league wins away from home
- This is Klopp's 150th league game in charge of the Reds - he won 91 of the previous 149
- They are three goals short of 450 in all competitions under the German
- Liverpool have scored in nine of the last 11 league meetings with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
Fabinho landmark
The Brazilian could make his 50th appearance for Liverpool this afternoon.
Fabinho interview
We caught up with Liverpool's patrolling defensive midfielder at Melwood on Friday.
How has he found receiving such widespread praise for his terrific performances in the No.6 role?
Eager to move away from individual plaudits, he told Liverpoolfc.com: "I think that's related to the team, this excellent moment the team is having.
"This team really helps for the individual qualities of the players to stand out. I am very flattered by the praise, but I hope to continue showing even more.
"I play for Liverpool, I want to be important to this team and I want to continue with this momentum."
Click here to read the fascinating chat in full.
You can watch highlights of the UEFA Super Cup, including Adrian's heroics, in the video below...
Lampard speaks
Liverpool met Lampard's Chelsea for the first time in Istanbul for the UEFA Super Cup showpiece last month.
The Reds emerged victors with a penalty shootout win following an end-to-end 2-2 draw. But Lampard took encouragement from that encounter, despite the final result.
He told a press conference on Friday: "For us, it will show us that we can compete with what on form are the best team in the country.
"I know it was early in the season and there are different things to take into account from that. I think we more than held ourselves in a good manner and we could have won the game. In our opinion we should have won the game if we had taken our chances but every game is a new thing.
"We have to be at our best which we have shown in phases this season and at other times we haven't. One thing is against Liverpool, if you aren't at your best for 90 minutes or if there are a couple of moments where you can't dig in then I think they will punish you. We are going up against the best team in the country at the moment."
Team news
We'll have confirmed team news at 3.30pm BST, but here's what we know so far...
Klopp did not rule Divock Origi out of contention to feature against Chelsea, despite suffering an ankle injury last weekend.
Keita, of course, returned to training on Friday but is not likely to be included in the squad yet, while Alisson Becker continues to take encouraging steps with his recovery from a calf injury.
For Chelsea, Mason Mount and N'Golo Kante could play following ankle injuries. Antonio Rudiger (groin) missed the midweek game with Valencia, while Emerson Palmieri (thigh) has been absent for the Blues' last two outings.
Training photos
Naby Keita returned to Liverpool training after injury on Friday as the Reds continued their preparations for the weekend. Check out the gallery below for images of the Melwood workout...
Missing Men
There were plenty of classic encounters with Chelsea to pick from for this version of Missing Men – and we've gone for the away league meeting back in November 2011.
Glen Johnson scored a dramatic winner late on to secure a 2-1 victory for Kenny Dalglish's Reds. Can you remember the starting XI from that day? Click the graphic to reveal the answers...
View from Chelsea
Let Feeder bass guitarist Taka Hirose give you his thoughts on Lampard's Chelsea and expectations for today's game. Click here to read the latest edition of our view from the opposition.
Last season's trip to Chelsea
The Reds earned a point at Stamford Bridge last season thanks to Daniel Sturridge's incredible late strike. Watch the highlights of that game in the video below...
Klopp's preview
The manager previewed the showdown with a press conference at Melwood on Friday. Watch everything he had to say in the video below...
Good morning...
... and welcome to our rolling coverage of Liverpool's encounter with Frank Lampard's Chelsea.
We're back in Premier League action and stay with us throughout the day for the best of the build-up, action and post-match reaction from Stamford Bridge.
