Jose Mourinho takes his Chelsea side to Anfield to face the league leaders Liverpool with a mass overhaul of his starting 11 expected.
Date: Sunday, 27th April Venue: Anfield Kick-off: 14:05 GMT On TV: Sky Sports
Chelsea will face one of their toughest challenges of the season as they travel to the relentless league leaders Liverpool who look to be charging their way to a first Premier League title.
The match will have lost a lot of meaning since last weekend, when Chelsea shockingly lost at home to Sunderland while Liverpool, who looked shakey, beat Norwich City away, winning 2-3.
For a game that until last weekend looked to be the title decider, since Tuesday the headlines have been dominated by what team Jose Mourinho would field following comments after the draw with Atlético Madrid.
Chelsea’s title hopes seem to be over, and in midweek Mourinho clearly indicated towards a much changed starting XI for the trip to Merseyside:
“I would play [if club allow] with the players who will not start Wednesday [in CL second leg]”
The decision may well take away from the intensity and anticipation of the game, but Jose clearly feels that the European Cup is what must be prioritised, and the situation would be different had Chelsea won vs Sunderland.
However, Chelsea fans will certainly look at the game with the same passion, as getting one over on Liverpool is always a pleasure, especially if it puts a (albeit small) dent into their title dream.
As mentioned, the two clubs experienced very different weekends during the last gameweek, as Liverpool pulled five points clear of the Blues with just 3 games to go for each.
When they last met, Chelsea came back from an early setback to come out 2-1 winners in late December, thanks to goals from Eden Hazard and Samuel Eto’o to cancel out Skrtel’s opener.
A win for Chelsea would move them to within two points of Liverpool again, but another setback for the Reds would be needed for Chelsea to take full advantage.
The hosts have, like Chelsea, lost just one game at home this season and have been known to start quickly in front of the Kop, scoring almost straight away and winning the game there and then.
In contrast, Chelsea have often been guilty of starting slowly and have conceded a few goals in the first few minutes of games this season, something that will need to be addressed ahead of Sunday’s match-up.
Additionally, Liverpool are currently on a 11-game win streak since they lost at Stamford Bridge in the last game of 2013.
Chelsea have been in sketchy form of late, particularly in the League, failing to win four of their last 10 League games – not good enough for a team challenging for a title.
Overall, Liverpool certainly look the favourites for the clash, despite Brendan Rodgers claiming all the pressure is on Chelsea and stating he has “never slept better” than he is now. Strange one, him.
However, Sunday’s game is a reunion of sorts with Brendan Rodgers, after the Welshman was part of Mourinho’s first set of staff at Chelsea back in 2004. Jose has claimed that if Chelsea cannot win the league, he would like to see his former colleague win the title.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was very simplistic and to the point in his presser earlier today, claiming Chelsea were going to win the game despite planning changes:
“We are going to try to win. Nobody goes into a game to lose. They [CFC fans] want us to go to Liverpool and give the maximum with whatever players we use.”
He also confirmed what most of us knew: Eden Hazard and John Terry would miss the game through injury and will need to be assessed ahead of Wednesday’s game.
The suspensions sustained on Tuesday may work in Chelsea favour, as those layers can now be fielded to play Liverpool, with players such as Obi Mikel and Frank Lampard likely to start.
Marco could also make a return from long-term injury to play a part in the game, in which midfield seems to be emerging as Chelsea’s strongest area.
In addition, Mo Salah and Nemanja Matic will almost certainly play due to their ineligibility in the Champions League.
Midfielder Ramires will miss the rest of the season after admitting an FA Charge following an elbow on Sabastian Larsson in last weekend’s defeat.
The Blues’ real problem comes in defence, with players either available for Wednesday or missing through injury, we could see a very makeshift back four to face the brilliant Suarez and Sturridge.
Youngsters such as Nathan Ake and Tomáš Kalas may get a chance while Ashley Cole is likely to play a second consecutive game at left-back.
If the ‘fringe players’ can put it a similar type of performance that we saw from the first team on Tuesday, maybe a scrappy one goal win for Chelsea may be on the agenda. If not, and the players fail to turn up, it could get embarrassing for the Blues.
Liverpool vs Chelsea: Pre-match facts
- Chelsea have lost 70 of their 159 matches vs Liverpool, winning 54, drawing 35
- Chelsea have just 10 wins in 79 matches at Anfield
- A loss will mathematically rule Chelsea out of the title race, as they will be 8 points behind Liverpool with 2 games to go
- Luis Suarez has scored 36 goals in his last 38 appearances in the Premier League
- Chelsea were the last team to beat Liverpool in the League, on December 29th 2013
Source: ChelseaMad/Opta
Liverpool vs Chelsea: Possible line-up
If we are going completely by Mourinho’s statement that he will not play those who will play in the Champions League on Wednesday, this is how we could see Chelsea lineup:
Chelsea: Hilario, Kalas, Christensen, Ake, Cole; Matic, Van Ginkel; Salah, Lampard, Schurrle; Torres
Prediction: Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea
