Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca says that Liverpool have “experienced players who know how to win games” in their squad.

When asked about whether the Blues will give their opponents a ‘guard of honour’ after they sealed the Premier League title last weekend, Maresca confirmed that his team would, and he went on to explain what his side lacks compared to the Reds:

“It’s tradition. We have to do that, and we are going to do that. They won the Premier League, so they deserve it. In terms of the gap between us and Liverpool, it is there, you can see this clearly. My feeling is we are [moving] in the right direction and hopefully this gap can be smaller and smaller.”

“The difference is they have been consistent compared to us. For part of the season, we were very good, and then we lost some games. This has probably been the main reason why the gap is there – also in terms of experienced players who know how to win games and these kinds of things, I think they have something more compared to us.”

Liverpool have marched clear of their opponents

After the Reds’ 2-1 win at Anfield back in October, Arne Slot admitted that his side were somewhat lucky to come out on top.

At one point near the end of last year, it appeared that Chelsea would be their closest challengers but their form has dropped off markedly in 2025. There is now a 22-point gap between the two clubs.

Chelsea v Liverpool team news

Slot has confirmed that Conor Bradley faces a late fitness test ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge this weekend. The Northern Ireland international missed the 5-1 victory against Tottenham after picking up a knock. Joe Gomez remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Chelsea, meanwhile, have doubts over the fitness of Robert Sanchez and Christopher Nkunku (both knocks), with Marc Guiu (leg), Wesley Fofana (hamstring), Mykhailo Mudryk (suspension) and Omari Kellyman (hamstring) all unavailable.

Click here to see Liverpool’s first team squad for the 2024/25 season