Chelsea vs. Liverpool
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick off: 4:30PM
One of the standout fixtures of any Premier League season takes place today when Chelsea welcome league leaders Liverpool to Stamford Bridge.
Both sides suffered defeats in the Champions League during the week and will be looking to return to winning ways domestically in what has all the makings of a goal-laden contest – as it was when the two sides went to penalties in the UEFA Super Cup last month.
Frank Lampard was part of the Chelsea team for many a memorable battle against Liverpool, although the balance of power has switched slightly since his playing heyday.
Whereas the Blues used to be the dominant force in English football while Liverpool were battling for a top-four spot, the roles have now been reversed with Chelsea coming into this match already seven points adrift of their opponents.
There was always going to be an asterisk next to this season for Chelsea; a first campaign under Lampard has coincided with a transfer ban which has subsequently forced the club to finally tap into their sizeable pool of young talent.
So far, it seems to have been a blessing in disguise.
All 11 of their Premier League goals this season have been scored by English players aged 21 or younger – the first time that has ever happened – while Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham were all on the scoresheet last time out in the league.
Tomori may have produced the goal of that particular game, but Abraham was once again the star of the show as Chelsea made light work of a difficult-looking assignment by beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-2 at Molineux.
It continued an entertaining start to the season for Chelsea, whose games have seen a league-high 22 goals so far, although the fact that those have been evenly shared between goals scored and conceded will be a concern.
It was a Liverpool legend who once said that “you can’t win anything with kids” and, while Alan Hansen may have been proved wrong on that occasion, the early signs certainly suggest that Chelsea are lacking the balance to truly trouble the main title contenders over the course of a 38-game season.
Throwing away a two-goal lead against Sheffield United in their most recent home league game is perhaps the best example of that so far, and even their scoring touch deserted them at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
Lampard’s managerial debut in the Champions League ended in a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Valencia, although the Blues could have come away with a point had Ross Barkley converted his penalty rather than putting it over via the top of the crossbar.
The result means that Chelsea are still winless at home under their former talisman, although in the Premier League they remain unbeaten there in 2019.
However, there were concerns in the Liverpool camp that it may take a while for them to get going this season considering their disrupted pre-season and the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino all being involved in international tournaments during the summer.
The reality could not be further from the truth, though. Jurgen Klopp’s side have won five from five in the league so far this term, storming into a five-point lead and taking full advantage of Manchester City’s unexpected dropped points.
Such form has picked up exactly where it left off last season, and the Reds have now won a club-record 14 games in a row in the top flight. Indeed, they are the first team in English top-flight history to ever achieve that feat while scoring more than one goal in each of the victories.
Another triumph this afternoon would leave only Pep Guardiola’s Man City with a longer run of wins in Premier League history (18), although Liverpool’s momentum was halted somewhat with a midweek defeat in Naples.
The Reds held their own for long spells in the opening match of their Champions League title defence, but two late Napoli goals saw them fall to defeat at the Stadio San Paolo for the second successive season.
It did not hamper them too much last term as they went on to lift the trophy in Madrid, of course, but a hiccup in a winning habit is never a good thing and Klopp will be desperate to avoid any hangover today.
Chelsea possible XI: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Tomori, Alonso, Barkley, Jorginho, Kovacic, Pulisic, Abraham, Willian.
Liverpool possible XI: Adrian, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino, Mane.