Unusually, Liverpool host Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night before meeting in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge three days later but this scenario happened before
It’s one of the great rivalries of modern times and this week sees Liverpool and Chelsea play their next two games against each other.
On Wednesday, the teams meet in the Carabao Cup third round at Anfield before facing each other in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Saturday – both games you can listen to live on talkSPORT.
Two teams playing each other in back-to-back games is rare but this is not the first time Liverpool and Chelsea have done this.
So we took the opportunity to reminisce on the previous two occasions the Reds and Blues have locked horns twice in quick succession.
28/09/2005 – Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea (Champions League)
Four months after Luis Garcia’s ‘ghost goal’ helped Liverpool edge past Chelsea to reach the 2005 Champions League final, the two sides met again in the group stage of the competition the following season.
The Reds and Blues were comfortable qualifiers out of the group and this contest at Anfield was a tight affair with neither side exchanging too many opportunities.
When they met in the league at the same venue four days later it was a completely different story…
02/10/2005 – Liverpool 1-4 Chelsea (Premier League)
This was one of Jose Mourinho’s finest hours at Chelsea, who served a Liverpool side managed by long-time foe Rafa Benitez an awful Anfield humiliation.
Didier Drogba bullied the Reds back line throughout and although he didn’t score, he played a key part in all of Chelsea’s goals.
The Ivorian won the penalty which Frank Lampard converted to give the Blues the lead before Drogba turned Sami Hyppia brilliantly and laid the ball on a plate for Damien Duff, who put Chelsea 2-1 up after Steven Gerrard levelled the game briefly.
Joe Cole diverted Drogba’s skewed shot into the net and the victory was rounded off when the striker went down the left flank before teeing Geremi (yes, even he scored) up to smash in Chelsea’s fourth.
05/05/2012 – Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool (FA Cup)
The other time the Reds and Blues clashed back-to-back was in 2012. The first instalment was the FA Cup final where that man again Drogba proved the difference between the two sides.
Ramires gave the Blues a first-half lead before Drogba’s accomplished finish gave them a 2-0 lead.
Andy Carroll pulled one back for the Reds and would have had a second but for a spectacular goalline save from Petr Cech as Chelsea held on to win their seventh FA Cup.
08/05/2012 – Liverpool 4-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
Liverpool did get their revenge three days later, of sorts.
They raced to an emphatic win in what was ultimately a dead rubber as both teams had lost their chance of reaching the top four.
Jordan Henderson, Daniel Agger and Michael Essien’s own goal gave the Reds a 3-0 lead at half-time before Jonjo Shelvey’s good finish made it 4-1 after Ramires pulled one back for the Blues.
The most memorable part of this game was probably a dreadful tackle Essien did on Carroll in the first-half but the Ghanaian’s generally friendly demeanour might have been key in sparing him what would have been a deserved sending off!
So how might the upcoming double header pan out? It’s hard to tell but the Stamford Bridge clash on Saturday could follow this pattern and finish 4-1 to one of the teams!