Premier League: Questions Galore as Chelsea Head to Merseyside

Liverpool vs Chelsea

So, a question to Premier League fans: are you convinced by Chelsea? Hitting six at Wolves and Cole Palmer’s masterclass at home to Brighton made me think I had underestimated the west Londoners.

Then 1-1 draws at home to Crystal Palace and, last time out, Nottingham Forest, made me think again that maybe the inconsistency which has dogged much of their last two seasons, remains an issue.

Which all begs a second question: which version of the west Londoners will turn up on Merseyside?

 

Talking Points

Former manager Mauricio Pochettino had seemed to create a platform by the end of last season, an element of consistency and a noticeable improvement – no easy task given the situation he inherited in the middle of two years of wild spending.

Yet the Argentine – now the manager of the US national team – didn’t last long as the managerial merry go-round resumed, and so Enzo Maresca now has the task to shape a squad packed with talent and top heavy with players.

The trip to Anfield also poses a third question of whether the new man in Stamford Bridge hotseat has what it takes to return Chelsea to amongst the elite or whether they are set to stay on the fringes of the top three.

A similar question could be asked of their opponents on Sunday, given Liverpool are deserved league leaders two months into the campaign but, a trip to Old Trafford aside when they came up against a woeful Manchester United, have yet to play any of the major players.

10 games into the reign of new manager Arne Slot, they have reached the fourth round of the League Cup, have maximum points in the league phase of the Champions League and sit atop of the table with Premier League 2024 highlights aplenty.

Slot is also the first Reds boss to win as many as nine of his first 10 games in charge of the club so can’t do much more.

What appears to be a key difference to date is that Liverpool conceded the first goal of a Premier League game on 16 occasions last season, something which has only happened once so far since his arrival.

They also displayed real character in their most recent outing as they won 1-0 at Crystal Palace, never an easy place to go.

That was a game in which they lost goalkeeper Alisson to a hamstring injury, which is likely to rule him out of action for the next month, although they have a very capable deputy in Irishman Caoimhin Kelleher.

Chelsea will be without key men of their own with defenders Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella both serving one-match suspensions.

Maresca is already on record as saying he knows his team is not ready to compete for the title.

He also dismissed suggestions that his calm approach was different to three of Chelsea’s previous Italian managers, Carlo Ancelotti, Maurizio Sarri, and Antonio Conte, although acknowledged their decent start to the campaign has bred confidence in his squad.

How much of it is justified may become clearer by Sunday teatime.

 

History

After the two domestic cup finals in 2022 when Liverpool both times defeated Chelsea in a penalty shootout, there had been three draws between the sides in the league.

That was until the early part of this year when the Merseysiders took control again.

A 4-1 home league victory in this fixture last season had Liverpool fans dreaming of the title.

When they met just under month later, Chelsea were unable to take advantage against their injury-hit opponents and were beaten again, this time conceding two minutes from the end of extra-time as Virgil van Dijk’s header settled the League Cup Final.

Overall, Chelsea have 65 victories in all competitions in their head-to-head meetings, Liverpool have 86 successes, and there have been 47 draws.

Chelsea last won at Anfield in 2021 when Mason Mount scored the only goal of the contest.

 

Betting Tip

The SBOTOP Premier League 2024 betting odds back Liverpool 1X2 @ 1.63 compared to Chelsea 1X2 @ 4.13.

It’s not too dissimilar with Asian Handicap odds as the home side are priced -1.00 @ 2.13 and the visitors +0.75 @ 2.06.

The draw is on offer @ 4.06 and a repeat of the corresponding fixture last season – Correct Score 4-1 – @ 20.00.

Given there have been four goalless draws between them over the last two seasons, perhaps you should take a closer look @ Correct Score 0-0 which will pay out @ 23.00.

Liverpool start as favourites, but I’m going for fairly high-scoring affair.

   

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