Premier League action on Tuesday will see struggling Liverpool face equally struggling Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The Reds enter the day in eight place and on the back of consecutive losses, sitting eight points back of the top four. The Blues, meanwhile, have sacked manager Graham Potter as they sit in 11th place in the game, 12 points back of Champions League qualification.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
Liverpool: That 7-0 win over Manchester United on March 5th feels like months ago. Since then, the team has suffered three straight defeats in all competitions, including a 4-1 loss at Manchester City on Saturday. Well, it won’t get much easier with the trip to Chelsea before welcoming Premier League leaders Arsenal. It feels like, at least at this point, they will need at least four points from those two games to have any real shot of pushing the top four. Time is running out.
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Chelsea: The Blues will be led in this match by interim head coach Bruno Saltor. The Spanish boss joined the club as part of Potter’s coaching staff and now takes charge until the club make their next decision. The 42-year-old former right-back, who played for the likes of Valencia and Brighton during his playing career, will get head coaching experience for the first time in this contest.
“Obviously it has been a difficult 24 hours for all of us, for the staff, for the families and now we have to live with the situation,” he said.
“If I’m here right now it’s because Graham and the club thought it was the right step. I’m just here to help the club in the best way I can.
“I’m here right now, trying to keep the process going. We try to go along with it the best we can. I think Graham did an amazing job. Football is a really complex business and we have to keep going.”
Prediction
Both teams are desperate for a victory but neither getting it in an entertaining game that doesn’t get either closer to their goals. Pick: Chelsea 1, Liverpool 1
Chelsea and Graham Potter parted ways on Sunday in an unsurprising move from the Blues after Saturday’s home loss to Aston Villa dropped them into the bottom half of the Premier League table. The decision was not that much of a shock given the Londoners struggles since the English tactician’s move from Brighton and Hove Albion and attention has immediately turned to his replacement.
Despite the team’s struggles in front of goal, the massive outlay on a talented squad will still be attractive to a number of managers. With a challenge on the reach Europe for next season, several of the best tacticians in Europe could be tempted to test themselves.
Tottenham Hotspur are also on the lookout for a new boss which creates an interesting battle between the two clubs to land the biggest name. However, the challenge awaiting Potter’s replacement at Stamford Bridge cannot be underestimated considering where Chelsea were less than two years ago under new Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel.
We look at the main names.
1. Julian Nagelsmann
Fresh from his Bayern dismissal, the German tactician is a hot name on the managerial market given that Spurs are also reportedly keen. However, the 35-year-old was not in any rush to enter into talks with Tottenham to be Antonio Conte’s successor and they are better placed to reach next season’s UEFA Champions League. A lack of a clear plan could also hinder Chelsea in convincing top tacticians to join at present — especially one who has just come from a European soccer institution like Bayern. Instead, a more experienced and hungry manager could be a better fit.