Jones keen for Liverpool to pass test of resilience at Chelsea

Curtis Jones is relishing the opportunity for Liverpool to show they can respond to adversity as they face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge following back-to-back defeats.

Liverpool won their first five games of the Premier League season and opened their Champions League campaign with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid, but things have gone awry for Arne Slot's team in the last week.

The Reds' perfect league start was halted by a 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace – who now boast the Premier League's only unbeaten record – before they lost 1-0 to Galatasaray on matchday two in the Champions League.

Liverpool have never lost successive Premier League games under Slot, and they will look to avoid that fate on Saturday against Chelsea, who themselves have lost two league games on the spin.

"I say it all the time, you must be mad if you think you can win every game," Jones told Liverpool's website when asked about their desire to bounce back.

"Of course, you would like to, but the reality is the teams we play are world-class teams and it's normal if you lose games – it's just how you bounce back.

"We've got a huge game in three days, so we have to go again. The lads have to stay calm, it's fine, it's part of it.

"It's not fine that we lose, but I think it's fine in the sense that we just have to stay calm. It will all change, of course it will."

Three of Liverpool's six Premier League games this season have been decided by a winning goal scored in the 90th minute or later, two for (against Newcastle United and Burnley) and one against (versus Palace).

Chelsea, meanwhile, shipped two second-half stoppage-time goals to Brighton in a 3-1 home defeat last week, after Trevoh Chalobah was sent off.

The Blues were also beaten by Manchester United in their previous league game, while their Champions League campaign had opened with a 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich.

But Enzo Maresca's side responded with a 1-0 win over Benfica in Europe on Tuesday, leading the Italian to say: "We needed for sure the win, for different reasons.

"I think we have some players on the pitch that unfortunately are not 100%, but they are playing because we have seven or eight players out.

"Now the focus is more for Saturday's game. Then we have the international break, which we are waiting for because we can get players back."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Chelsea – Enzo Fernandez

Chelsea will still be without their injured talisman Cole Palmer, while Liam Delap is a long-term absentee in their attack.

They may need Fernandez, whose 12 shots in all competitions this season are the most of any player in their squad, to contribute against a Liverpool defence that has looked less than solid.

Liverpool – Alexander Isak 

Isak has scored in each of his last two Premier League appearances at Stamford Bridge, netting for Newcastle in defeats in both 2023-24 and 2024-25. 

The only player to score in three consecutive seasons away at an opponent and lose all three games is Rod Wallace at Norwich City, between 1992-93 and 1994-95 for Leeds United.