2019 UEFA Super Cup Preview: Liverpool take on Chelsea in all-English final

A year after being thwarted by record champions Real Madrid in the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League final in Kyiv, Liverpool were the toast of Europe for the first time in 14 years after beating fellow Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in the 2018-19 final.

In their first UEFA Super Cup final in 14 years, Liverpool will face another Premier League club and UEFA Europa League winners Chelsea in Istanbul.

Chelsea beat Arsenal in an all English Europa League final earlier this year

Liverpool and Chelsea are two of 24 clubs to have won the UEFA Super Cup in the past.

With three wins in the Super Cup compared to Chelsea's one, Liverpool have the superior pedigree in the competition.

The Reds triumphed against Hamburg in 1977 and Bayern Munich in 2001 for their first two Super Cup wins before their third triumph in 2005.

Liverpool have finished runners-up in the Super Cup twice, against Anderlecht in 1978 and Juventus in 1984.

Chelsea's only triumph in the competition came in 1998 against Real Madrid. The Blues have since lost in their following two Super Cup appearances (Atletico Madrid in 2012 and Bayern Munich in 2013).

#Respect 👊On Friday we announced that Stéphanie Frappart will referee the UEFA #SuperCup. The first female to take charge of a major UEFA men’s showpiece event 👏Read more 👇https://t.co/KHrJiRAY7Q pic.twitter.com/9yPTNJKVwj

— UEFA (@UEFA) August 5, 2019

Since Liverpool's win in the 2005 edition of the Super Cup against CSKA Moscow in Monaco, there have been four instances of a Premier League club (Chelsea twice and Manchester United twice) gracing the competition but coming up second best.

The 2019 UEFA Super Cup in Istanbul between Liverpool and Chelsea thus assures England of an eighth Super Cup winner - and first in 14 years.

On recent form, the free-scoring Liverpool, powered by their star-studded front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, will start as the marginal favourites.

However, Chelsea are no pushovers even if their disjointed performance under new manager Frank Lampard in a dismal 0-4 defeat against Manchester United in the opening match of the new Premier League season suggests otherwise.

With both teams coming off successful European campaigns in the previous season, it's hard to predict a winner in a one-off match like the Super Cup.

As a famous footballing cliche goes, 'it's not form in the run-in but form on the day which often matters in the end.'

Which of the two English clubs will be the last team standing (and smiling) in Istanbul on Wednesday?