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Be it the in the Knockout stages of the Champions League or during the fight for Premier League dominance, the rivalry between the Reds of Merseyside and the Blues of London has been well documented over the years. A fixture that never tends to settle in either’s favor has never been about the number of titles each has won or about a few local blood feuds. Rather, this battle has always revolved around a few tasty comments by a certain ‘Red Rafa’ whom the Chelsea fans hated with all their heart; at least this has not changed in his Blue avatar.
Chelsea’s visit to Anfield last season was engulfed by Fernando Torres’ return after his 50 million transfer in the winter. And if the Kop’s reaction to Nando in Blue was deafening with boos, their reaction on seeing their ex-idol Benitez and Torres lining up against them is sure to blow the roof.
Though many a fan might term the duo as blood traitors, looking at the current condition of both the clubs on paper, no one can actually blame them. While Chelsea, the reigning Champions of Europe and contenders for a top 3 spot in the EPL, have stayed in contention by bringing in some of the stellar names in the game; Liverpool, no longer even the top dog in Merseyside, have ironically splashed the cash on 2 Chelsea rejects (read Borini and Sturridge).
Even though the Reds have seen multiple manager changes and owner takeovers at the club over the past 3 years, the fact lies that Chelsea last defeated Liverpool back in May, 2010. That means that Liverpool have comprehensively beaten the Blues in all competitions over the past 2 seasons, with the 4-1 win during Torres’s return last season easily their proudest.
Team News
Liverpool’s season has not been hampered by injuries this time around, though the fans wouldn’t have minded a few excuses looking at their assured 7th position finish coming up. Steven Gerrard has been an ever-present for Rodgers in midfield and the England captain has started to strike form recently. Luis Suarez and Sturridge will continue upfront and Rodgers will look to the ex-Chelsea man to beat their ongoing series of ducks against West Ham and Reading. Rodgers selection concerns will lie at the back with Jamie Carragher’s fitness after a midweek game a concern.
Chelsea has received a lot of criticism this season, a major portion of which came from their own fans. And considering the fact that Benitez will definitely leave at the end of the season, the Blues are surprisingly still in the reckoning for 1 title and a CL spot. With Europa League semis and a visit to Wembley approaching, Rafa will again look to rotate his squad from the Fulham game on Wednesday. John Terry and Frank Lampard might not be fit enough to start 2 consecutive games, as Ivanovic and Mikel will look to come in. All the hype surrounding Torres may fall on deaf ears as Rafa will look to start the rested Demba Ba ahead of the Spaniard. Oscar will definitely get a starting role ahead of the less than impressive Victor Mosses.
Expected Line-ups
Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Enrique, Lucas, Gerrard, Henderson, Suarez, Sturridge, Coutinho
Chelsea: Cech, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Ivanovic, Bertrand, Mikel, Ramirez, Mata, Hazard, Oscar, Ba
Instilling a different style of play would definitely have taken time as Brendan Rodgers pointed out at the start of the season, but when the manger keeps changing formations and shape in every game, it gets all the more difficult for players to adapt into.
After Lucas’s return to the side, Joe Allen’s role as a lateral-passing deep midfielder became redundant and so the duo of Lucas and Gerrard have become a mainstay. It is the front 4 where the problem lies as BR keeps changing their shape from the usual 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-1-1 to a 4-3-3.
In all of these shapes, the constant factor settling in now is the presence of Suarez and Sturridge. Suarez has been made to drop deep behind the striker Sturridge so as to give the Uruguayan the much needed space and time on the ball. Also this gives another option of Sturridge peeling away with another defender.
The selection woes will lie for the other 2 spots where the likes of Coutinho, Henderson and Downing are available. Coutinho is becoming one of Liverpool’s more successful signings in the past few seasons; and though that fact may not speak volumes of the Brazilian, the ex-Inter man is surely adding to the creativity around Suarez. Against Reading, Coutinho was started through the centre with Sturridge shifting to the right. This was the position where the 20 year old really prospered and Sturridge’s cut-ins from the wings kept opening an option for Coutinho to dink it to Suarez in space.
The other duo of Henderson and Downing has started to hit form in the 2nd half of the season, with particularly Downing getting the nod usually. But with the likes of Mata and Ramirez in Chelsea’s ranks, Rodgers might want to go with a flat midfield trio, which points towards the inclusion of Henderson. This selection would lead to Suarez and Coutinho shifting to either side of Henderson down the middle.
Also, Henderson’s presence in the previous game was allowing Gerrard to break much more, and though Reading’s quality off the ball might be a big factor in this respect, Gerrard’s presence higher up the pitch is definitely going to cause Mikel problems.
Chelsea might have moved into 4th by the time the play this game as Arsenal play on Saturday, so 3 points is a big must for Rafa’s men. Having rested Oscar on Wednesday, the trio of Oscar, Mata and Hazard will be available from the start on Sunday. Oscar and Hazard have been seen exchanging wings in recent games, and Hazard’s choice of wing is going to affect the attacking instincts of either Johnson or Enrique.
Mata is one of the top choices for PFA awards this season and the Spaniard will have a simpler job against Liverpool than in the FA cup semis against Yaya Toure and co. Mata’s presence on the ball was highly diminished in the first half at Wembley last week and this straight away affected the way Chelsea played.
Against Liverpool, Lucas will be having the role to cover the runs of Mata and Hazard. The Brazilian will need ample support from the aging legs of Steven Gerrard. With Henderson having the job to look for Ramirez’s forward bombardments, the midfield battle is nicely set up.
Another selection for Rafa would be picking Mikel to partner Ramirez rather than Lampard. In case Lampard is picked, it would be Ramirez who will sit deep on Suarez and Coutinho. This negates the entire intent to play the Brazilian for his high energy in the centre, as his passing and positioning deteriorates in the position. So Mikel, with Ramirez slightly advanced, seems to be Rafa’s better bet. But still there is a good chance of Suarez or Coutinho from the left getting into space that Mikel tends to leaves between the lines.
A big call for Rafa is going to be Ba over Torres. Nando has been slowly approaching some sort of form, and with the footballing world already calling him a ‘goal machine’, his presence against Carragher at the back might be interesting. Ba on the other hand will be a definite target man against Agger and will look to add to his tally of spectacular goals in recent games.
PIE’s Call: The match is going to be won in the deep midfield zones of both teams. Chelsea’ duo of Mata and Hazard against Lucas, and Liverpool’s Suarez and Coutinho on Mikel could be the defining battles. A fixture that seems to be losing its importance due to the vast difference in conditions of the 2 teams will now surely be a deciding factor in the race of the top 4 spots. The likes of Arsene Wenger and AVB will be surely looking to BR to pull off another one on Chelsea.
Prediction: Liverpool 2- 2 Chelsea
