Amid the preamble surrounding this mouth-watering fixture, much has been made of its position on the calendar. Halloween’s arrival casts a significant shadow here: Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea have experienced a horror show almost as unrealistic as the 10th return of Michael Myers, and no amount of tinkering or conspiracy talk can stem the points bleeding away from Stamford Bridge in what is proving a nightmarish title defence.
Into this whirlwind of controversy comes Jurgen Klopp, a self-styled opposite to Mourinho’s divisive managerial style, but one with a pounding headache of his own. Liverpool, like Chelsea, have been distinctly underwhelming this season.
Despite the surge of optimism surrounding Klopp’s arrival, a mood of frustration still wafts around Anfield. The poor start orchestrated by Brendan Rodgers was almost forgotten among the hype of a managerial change. Sadly, the problems that dogged Liverpool haven’t departed with the incumbent gaffer.
With Daniel Sturridge sidelined for last weekend’s draw with Southampton and Christian Benteke primed on the bench, Liverpool looked light up top for long periods.
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Divock Origi is inexperienced and currently ineffective; the Reds rarely threatened to overrun Saints on the flanks. Ronald Koeman’s back four were breached only once, and that was with Benteke set to work in the second half. As both teams pushed for a late winner, Klopp would have glanced across at his bench and sighed. Liverpool’s backup personnel is currently bereft of experience and lock-picking verve.
Meanwhile, a familiar, predictable pattern is emerging. In Klopp’s first three fixtures, Liverpool have burst from the traps, setting a frantic pace for 20 minutes. But no goals have been secured in those opening salvos and, after explosive starts, Liverpool then drift towards predictability. Huffing and puffing, rather than clinical pressing, follows shortly afterwards. Both the Saints and Spurs were relatively untroubled for much of their encounters as Liverpool’s attacking ideas ran dry in the latter stages.
An improvement seems some time away. Benteke, who tweaked ligaments in his knee and was replaced on Sunday, has a very slim shot for selection here (and boy, how they need him), while Sturridge still looks unlikely to return. Given the precarious nature of Chelsea’s current situation, one of these strikers must play assassin if Liverpool are to get a result.
Despite his protestations and an improved performance midweek, Mourinho’s team is very much in crisis. They have looked vulnerable in defence, ragged in the middle of the park and inconsistent in attack. Yes, they were slightly unfortunate not to have scored against West Ham from Kurt Zouma’s header, which was millimeters from crossing the line. And in other circumstances, the raised linesman’s flag for Cesc Fabregas’s goal might not have come into play. But Chelsea’s luck is very much down at the moment, their misery compounded by Saturday’s 2-1 defeat and a chastening League Cup exit to Stoke, which featured an injury to Diego Costa, plus a penalty appeal against Fabregas not given.
This has done nothing to dispel the myth that the football world is happily grinding the cogs against them. Conspiracy theories regarding poor refereeing decisions and disciplinary measures have been lobbed into post-match pressers like hand grenades, but the way in which Chelsea lost their heads against the Hammers says as much about their attitude is it does any slice of misfortune or political malevolence.
When Nemanja Matic was dismissed for two avoidable yellow cards, it was Chelsea’s malaise in a nutshell. Mourinho and his first team coach were later sent to the stands and five other players were booked. Like much of the chaos surrounding the club – “Physiogate” say, or Eden Hazard “liking” an Instagram post linking him with Real Madrid - indiscipline and disharmony seem to be at the eye of this storm.
The knock-on effects have been huge. Chelsea are 15th, 11 points off the top. At the weekend, one bookie slashed the odds of their relegation from 1000-1 to 500-1. That’s not to say Chelsea are now bottom three candidates; more a sign their malaise is becoming a long-term and downward-spiraling concern.
Both Sturridge and Benteke are doubtful with knee issues; they join absent first-team players Jordan Henderson, Danny Ings and Joe Gomez. Chelsea are also sweating. Costa took another knock against Stoke and was hospitalised. The good news (or bad, if you’re considering his poor form) is that Branislav Ivanovic could be fit enough to return. Thibuat Courtois is also sidelined.
Player to watch: Lucas Leiva (Liverpool)
The Brazilian, like Adam Lallana, is a player thriving under the new manager. For long periods he operated on the peripheries under Rodgers, but his rare defensive cameos have since been upgraded to a regular spot in the heart a three-man midfield alongside Emre Can and James Milner.
It’s from here that Lucas makes for an important defensive barrier. When Liverpool surge forward, both Can and Milner tend to push on beyond the likes of Lallana and Phillipe Coutinho.
It’s Lucas’s job to provide a defensive screen. When Liverpool advance en masse into their opponents’ half, however, he sits just behind the probing runs of Klopp’s attacking personnel. A disciplined shift is required if Liverpool are to control Chelsea’s attack, regardless of their underwhelming form so far.
Could it get any worse for Jose? Sent to the stands during the 2-1 defeat against West Ham (and subsequently charged with misconduct, again) and then hassled by annoying teens filming him as he walked along the street, his has been a grim week. Oh, and let’s not forget the penalty shootout defeat at Stoke. At least former Chelsea talisman Frank Lampard is backing him. “With Mourinho in charge, the squad they’ve got, the talent they’ve got on the pitch and the club that Chelsea is now, I don’t see any way that they won’t turn it around,” he said.
For Klopp, the bedding-in period continues. His latest challenge has been to understand the priorities when it comes to cup games. "In Germany, [the cups are] a very important thing, but it's not interesting in England. It's more interesting for people here that we were in the final of the Champions League. I have not been here long enough to understand everything about the meaning that English people attach to cups. For me, it's all the same. I want to win games. That's all. I don't want to give up before we have to."
Liverpool have failed to score in just 1 of their last 10 league clashes with the Blues.
Mourinho has only won 1 of his previous 4 meetings with Klopp, all in the 2012/13 Champions League.
Benteke has netted 14 headers since the start of his first Premier League season in 2012/13, a haul no player can better (level with Olivier Giroud). More FFT Stats Zone facts
FourFourTwo prediction
A tense and tetchy draw. 1-1.
Chelsea vs Liverpool LIVE ANALYSIS with Stats Zone
