Jamie Carragher explains one huge incentive Liverpool ‘should’ have against Chelsea on Sunday | OneFootball

Jamie Carragher has explained one significant incentive which ‘should’ motivate Liverpool to go all-out in trying to defeat Chelsea on Sunday.

The fixture at Stamford Bridge is the Reds’ first match since securing the Premier League title at a raucous Anfield last weekend, and with Arne Slot’s side not involved in any other competition at this stage of the season, they’re now free to enjoy their final four games.

The picture couldn’t be any more different for tomorrow’s opponents, with the Blues still in the thick of a fierce battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League by finishing in the top five domestically.

Carragher explains why Liverpool should ‘feel motivated’ to beat Chelsea

Gary Neville suggested earlier this week that Liverpool’s players might have let their standards drop in training after the title-winning celebrations, which could hand Chelsea the perfect opportunity to claim a crucial victory.

However, Carragher thinks that – even with the squad rotation at which Slot has hinted – the Premier League champions might still have a big motivation to claim all three points on Sunday, parimarily with a view towards next season.

In his column for The Telegraph, the former Reds defender explained: “Chelsea are in must-win territory now. Failure to play in next year’s Champions League will be a huge setback, which is why Liverpool should still feel motivated to perform this weekend.

“Chelsea have been no title threat this season. If Liverpool land a significant blow right now, that might remain the case for another year.”

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

How will Liverpool approach Stamford Bridge visit?

Coincidentially, when the same two clubs met on the final day of the 2002/03 season (a game in which Carragher played), it represented a major sliding doors moment, as a 2-1 win for Chelsea clinched qualification for the Champions League at the Reds’ expense.

A few weeks later, Roman Abramovich took over at Stamford Bridge and funded a transformation which propelled the Blues to unprecedented success. To this day, some may argue that he wouldn’t have bought the west London club had they not been involved in Europe’s premier club competition.

The stakes mightn’t be quite as stratospheric now, but if Liverpool were to win tomorrow and Enzo Maresca’s side miss out on Champions League qualification by a single point (or even goal difference), it’d become much harder for them to evolve into serious contenders for our Premier League crown next season.

Aside from those circumstances, we’d imagine that the elite mentality which proved crucial to the Reds winning the title won’t just be abandoned simply because that goal has been achieved, and the players might also be keen to preserve the integrity of the top-five race by not allowing Chelsea to merely roll over them.

Whatever the result might be on Sunday, we certainly don’t envisage a repeat of the 4-0 romp that Manchester City enjoyed against LFC in our first match after becoming champions in 2020.