Chelsea v Liverpool: Where to Watch Live, Preview and Teams

Chelsea welcome Liverpool to Stamford Bridge, in the pick of this week's Premier League fixtures, as the hosts attempt to end their poor run against the Merseyside outfit.

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 4 pm GMT. Live coverage is available on Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports HD 1 and Sky Sports 3D. Watch highlights of the game on Match of the Day 2 on BBC One at 10.25 pm GMT.

Overview

Chelsea had a fantastic start to their season but their form has dipped after the last international break. Roberto Di Matteo's side have triumphed just twice in their past five matches but they have gained confidence with a thrilling 3-2 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League Group E game in midweek. The Blues sit second in the league table with 23 points from 10 matches, four behind leaders Manchester United, who beat Aston Villa 3-2 in an earlier game, to maintain top spot till next week.

Liverpool, on the other hand, have not started the season the way they would have liked to under new manager Brendan Rodgers and are now languishing at the wrong end of the league table (13th), having collected just two wins and 11 points so far. The Reds lost 1-3 at Anfield to Rodgers' former club Swansea City last week, bringing an end to their bid to retain the League Cup and they also suffered a 0-1 loss to Anzhi Makhachkala in Moscow in midweek, putting their Europa League campaign in jeopardy.

However, history favours Liverpool in this fixture as the Reds have lost only two of their last 11 Premier League games against Chelsea. The Merseysiders have also clinched the league double over the European champions in the last two seasons, despite finishing several points behind them on the table.

Di Matteo has labelled Liverpool as Chelsea's bogey team, while Rodgers, who worked on the Blues' coaching staff under Jose Mourinho earlier in his career, returns to Stamford Bridge hoping for a result that can turn around his club's season.

The spotlight will once again be on Chelsea striker Fernando Torres, who netted five goals in four league games against the Blues while playing for Liverpool but has failed to score in the three matches for against the Reds, following his £50m switch two years ago.

Form Guide

Chelsea

• Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): W D W L L
• Last result: Chelsea 3 - 2 Shakhtar Donetsk

Liverpool

• Last five (all competitions, most recent first): L D L D W
• Last result: Anzhi Makhachkala 1 - 0 Liverpool

Team News

Chelsea: Both Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole remain sidelined for this game. John Terry is available after serving a four-match suspension handed by the FA. However, Di Matteo has stated that the former England skipper is no longer guaranteed a place in the starting line-up, after surprisingly leaving the player on the bench in midweek.

Liverpool: Pepe Reina and Glen Johnson are still struggling with hamstring injuries and will have late fitness tests. Long-term absentees Fabio Borini, Martin Kelly and Lucas Leiva will miss the tie, with the latter expected to return to the first team by the end of the month. Rodgers will restore his first-choice starting line-up, after making 10 changes for the midweek Europa League tie.

Possible Starting Line-ups:

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Bertrand; Ramires, Mikel; Mata, Oscar, Hazard; Torres

Liverpool (4-3-3): Jones; Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique; Allen, Sahin, Gerrard; Suso, Suarez, Sterling