Preview: Liverpool-Chelsea

The Continuing Story

The season is only a week old and here we have the first collision between two of the big four, a showdown between two Premier League giants whose managers do not much like each other, and whose players have bucket loads to prove every time the two teams meet. And Liverpool seem to meet Chelsea very often.

The respective managers, Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourinho, took up their current posts in the summer of 2004. They are a couple of games into their fourth seasons with their clubs. And those seasons have been momentous.

Liverpool won the Champions League in Benitez's first season in charge, lost the League Cup final - to Chelsea - but finished a disappointing fifth in the Premier League. In 2005-06 Liverpool won the FA Cup and improved to third in the League. Last season the Reds were back in the Champions League final but unable to improve on third place in the Premiership.

Chelsea's first season under Mourinho saw them follow their triumph over Liverpool in the League Cup final by walking away with the Premier League title - their first domestic championship for 50 years. In 2005-06 they retained that title with relative ease, but lost in the FA Cup semi-final - to Liverpool. Last season they were beaten to the league championship by Manchester United, but compensated for that by winning the League Cup and the FA Cup. They were, however, thwarted in the Champions League ambitions, losing on penalties in the semi-final - to Liverpool.

The destinies of the two clubs have been intertwined since the two adversaries from the Iberian peninsula arrived in England. Remarkably, Sunday's meeting will be the sixteenth between them in three years, and the seventh in the Premier League.

The head to head meetings to date between Rafa's Reds and Jose's Blues are as follows:

03 Oct 2004 (Prem) Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool (Joe Cole)
01 Jan 2005 (Prem) Liverpool 0-1 Chelsea (Joe Cole)
27 Feb 2005 (League Cup final) Liverpool 2-3 Chelsea aet (at Cardiff) (Riise, Nunez - Gerrard og, Drogba, Kezman)
27 Apr 2005 (Champions Lge sf:1) Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool
03 May 2005 (Champions Lge sf:2) Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea (Luis Garcia)
28 Sep 2005 (Champions Lge Group G) Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
02 Oct 2005 (Prem) Liverpool 1-4 Chelsea (Gerrard - Lampard pen, Duff, Joe Cole, Geremi)
06 Dec 2005 (Champions Lge Group G) Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool
05 Feb 2006 (Prem) Chelsea 2-0 Liverpool (Gallas, Crespo)
22 Apr 2006 (FA Cup sf) Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool (at Old Trafford) (Drogba - Riise, Luis Garcia)
13 Aug 2006 (Community Shld) Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool (at Cardiff) (Shevchenko - Riise, Crouch)
17 Sep 2006 (Prem) Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool (Drogba)
20 Jan 2007 (Prem) Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea (Kuyt, Pennant)
24 Apr 2007 (Champions Lge sf:1) Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool (Joe Cole)
01 May 2007 (Champions Lge sf.2) Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea (Agger) (Liverpool won 4-1 on penalties)

Premier League : P6, Liverpool wins=1, Chelsea wins=5
Champions League : P6, Liverpool wins=2, Chelsea wins=1, draws=3
FA Cup : P1, Liverpool wins=1
League Cup : P1, Chelsea wins=1
Community Shld : P1, Liverpool wins=1

Overall, Chelsea have won seven of the clashes, Liverpool five, and three have been drawn. The Reds have also won a penalty shoot-out. However while Liverpool have had the better of cup ties, Chelsea have dominated in the Premiership, winning five of the six meetings to date.

The only defeat Chelsea have suffered against Liverpool in the League during the last three seasons was in January when the Reds triumphed 2-0 at Anfield. Chelsea also lost at Anfield in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final in May. Those two set-backs on Merseyside are Chelsea's only defeats during 2007. Of their last 46 competitive matches, Chelsea have lost just two - both to Liverpool at Anfield (though they also lost on penalties to Manchester United in the Community Shield).

That is a remarkable testimony to Chelsea's consistency. But Benitez will tell his players that it is also evidence of Liverpool's seemingly unique ability to unsettle the Blues.

The two clubs go into Sunday's match unbeaten this season. Liverpool beat Aston Villa on the opening day of the new Premier League season, then won in Toulouse in their Champions League third qualifying round first leg on Wednesday. Meanwhile Chelsea came from behind in both their Premier League games to claim maximum points, beating Birmingham and Reading.

Both teams will be confident going into this game - but also wary of their opponents' proven ability to knock the off course. Given Liverpool's desperate desire to become English champions again, defeat - especially at home - is likely to be more damaging to the Reds, psychologically, than a away loss would to Chelsea. But one thing is absolutely certain: neither side will be contemplating defeat, and the level of intensity on the pitch will reflect this.

FORM GUIDE

Liverpool

15 Aug (CL Qualifying) v Toulouse (A) WON 1-0
11 Aug (Prem) v Aston Villa (A) WON 2-1
05 Aug (Friendly) v Feyenoord (A) DREW 1-1
03 Aug (Friendly) v Shanghai Shenhua (N) WON 2-0
20 July (Friendly) v Auxerre (N) WON 2-0
17 July (Friendly) v Werder Bremen (N) WON 3-2

Chelsea

15 Aug (Prem) v Reading (A) WON 2-1
12 Aug (Prem) v Birmingham (H) WON 3-2
05 Aug (Community Shield) v Man Utd (N) DREW 1-1 (Man Utd won 3-0 on pens)
31 July (Friendly) v Brondby (A) WON 2-0
28 July (Friendly) v Rangers (A) LOST 0-2
25 July (Friendly) v Feyenoord (A) DREW 1-1

TEAM NEWS

Liverpool

Captain Steven Gerrard is expected to have a pain-killing injection in order to play, after fracturing his toe against Toulouse. Benitez is likely to rotate his squad, with Jermaine Pennant, Dirk Kuyt, Xabi Alonso and Daniel Agger set to return.

Squad: Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Riise, Arbeloa, Pennant, Gerrard, Sissoko, Alonso, Mascherano, Babel, Benayoun, Hyypia, Crouch, Kuyt, Torres, Voronin, Itandje.

Last Starting XI (v Toulouse): Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Arbeloa, Benayoun (Riise 59), Gerrard (Sissoko 65), Mascherano, Babel, Voronin (Torres 78), Crouch. Subs Not Used: Itandje, Agger, Alonso, Kuyt.

Chelsea

Captain John Terry is back in the Chelsea squad for the trip to Anfield after a knee ligament injury. Ricardo Carvalho is out with a thigh injury, which will be a big loss for the Blues, while Arjen Robben, Michael Ballack and Wayne Bridge are all out.

Squad: Cech, Cudicini, Ferreira, Diarra, Terry, Ben Haim, Johnson, A Cole, J Cole, Makelele, Lampard, Essien, Obi, Shevchenko, Kalou, Sidwell, Pizarro, Drogba, Wright-Phillips, Sinclair.

Last Starting XI (v Reading): Cech, Ferreira (Pizarro 46), Ben Haim, Carvalho (Johnson 31), Ashley Cole, Wright-Phillips, Sidwell (Obi 46), Lampard, Malouda, Drogba, Kalou. Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Joe Cole.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Liverpool

Jamie Carragher has reconfirmed his decision to give up international football in order to give Liverpool his undivided attention. He is hugely experienced within the Liverpool squad, and his inspirational presence and willingness to lay his body on the line for the cause will again be crucial if Liverpool are to claim the three points they know are vital to their title aspirations.

Chelsea

Didier Drogba

Ivorian Didier Drogba has proved too hot to handle for the Liverpool defence on occasion in the past. And in midweek he came on as a substitute against Reading to score a superb goal. If he is involved against Liverpool his sheer physical presence and tireless work for the team will pose particular problems for the Reds.