There are plenty of key battles to look out for in Liverpool’s clash with Chelsea this weekend, with Luis Diaz potentially profiting from the visitors’ approach.
The Reds host the Blues in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon in one of Arne Slot‘s toughest assignments so far.
Liverpool top the table going into the weekend meeting with a dangerous Chelsea outfit, but this could be the biggest test of their title credentials yet.
The west Londoners are largely impressing under new manager Enzo Maresca, with Cole Palmer starting the season in sensational form to have his side in fourth place, four points behind Liverpool.
Ahead of a much-anticipated game, we spoke to Chelsea fan and writer Oli Birch (@OliBirch1) to get the lowdown on the Blues, Sunday’s key battles and much more.
How would you assess Chelsea’s season so far?
Early doors, but I’d say a seven-out-of-10 for me so far.
Four wins and plenty of goals from our first seven games after what was a pretty tumultuous summer is definitely a solid start, and there seems to be a clear strongest XI emerging which hasn’t been the case for some time now.
Jadon Sancho has been an excellent addition, slotting straight into the team with three assists in his first four appearances.
Marc Cucurella has carried on his form from the Euros and Nicolas Jackson has looked sharp in front of goal. Meanwhile, Palmer has carried on doing what he does best.
You could argue it’s been a friendly start to the season, and there have been a few shades of last season with frustrating draws at home to Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.
But, on the whole, we’ve started pretty well and we’ve gained some good momentum heading into a tricky run of fixtures now.
What has Maresca done to improve your fortunes?
I’ve been impressed by how Enzo Maresca’s handled his first few months in charge.
During pre-season, he identified the players who would suit his style of play and let those who wouldn’t go, like Conor Gallagher, Raheem Sterling and Trevoh Chalobah – though I didn’t want to see the former leave.
With such a large squad we needed someone to come in with this approach and introduce some stability, and that’s exactly what he has done.
Maresca has also been honest about his style of play, stating during the summer that we’re likely to concede goals playing in the manner we do.
It’s obviously not what the fans want to hear from a new manager, but strangely, I think it’s eased the pressure on the players and given them confidence to play the way we are, knowing they have the backing of the boss.
Have there been any standout performers? Who has struggled?
Palmer has been the obvious one, with six goals and five assists in the first seven Premier League games. But thankfully, he’s not been the only one performing so far this season.
As I mentioned above, Sancho has looked a new player since his arrival and carries a genuine threat every time we’ve gone forward, while on the other wing, Noni Madueke has thrived as a regular starter, scoring four in six starts.
In midfield, Moises Caicedo has been excellent. We had quite a few question marks following an inconsistent start to life at the Bridge following such a big move, but he has maintained the levels we saw towards the end of last season and has been really impressive.
In terms of those who have struggled, it’s tricky as we’ve had a consistent starting lineup in the league who have all played pretty well.
That being said, Robert Sanchez has made a handful of errors leading to goals already, so I think he’s still a slight concern in goal.
Mykhailo Mudryk has fallen out of favour and has only managed one start in the league this season, and the likes of Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile have been demoted to Maresca’s second XI, which is something I’m personally happy with as neither looked overly impressive at the back last season.
Is Palmer the best player in the league currently?
I think so.
He has shown already that last season wasn’t just a flash in the pan in terms of his goals and assists, and it’s hard to find another player in the league who’s playing at that level so consistently at the moment.
Erling Haaland is obviously up there from a goalscoring perspective, but Palmer’s influence on the Chelsea team goes beyond that.
He’s excellent on the ball; his movement off it is exceptional; he is clinical in front of goal; he puts a shift in defensively and is lethal from set pieces.
What are your thoughts on Liverpool’s start?
Impressive. We’ve seen with the likes of Man United and Arsenal in recent years just how difficult it can be to replace a longstanding manager who has had so much success at a club.
But in Arne Slot, Liverpool appear to have made that transition seamlessly.
He seems to have brought more defensive stability in, evident by the fact you have conceded just twice so far in the league and continued the potency in attack.
Obviously there are slight chinks in the armour as Nottingham Forest highlighted, and similar to Chelsea, the fixtures have been kind so far.
And on another day, the win against Crystal Palace could’ve been different had VAR given the penalty for Virgil Van Dijk‘s pull on Marc Guehi.
But top of the league after seven games definitely deserves a lot of credit.
What do you think of Arne Slot overall?
I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Slot in the early days.
The fact he prefers a similar style to football as Jurgen Klopp has helped, as he’s not tried to reinvent the wheel.
Instead, he has subtly introduced changes which appear to have paid dividends at the back and in possession.
It seems as though he’s the type of manager who likes to develop individuals, with the likes of likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate and Ryan Gravenberch all enjoying excellent starts to the season.
Looking ahead to Sunday, where will the key battles take place?
One of the main battles will be down Liverpool’s left between Luis Diaz and Malo Gusto at one end, and Madueke and Andy Robertson at the other.
Gusto likes to get forward to support Chelsea‘s fast counter-attacks, but doing so on Sunday could give Diaz the freedom of Anfield to run at our defence.
And with the form he’s been in so far this season, that could well prove costly.
Meanwhile, Madueke has the ability to pose Robertson some questions given the former’s form this season.
His versatility in attack means he’s comfortable staying wide and getting to the byline or cutting inside to support Jackson and others.
Then it’s the question of who Liverpool deploy to thwart Palmer.
Gravenberch would appear the obvious candidate given his impressive form in his new role, but does he have enough defensive nous to keep Palmer quiet?
Maybe doubling up alongside Alexis Mac Allister is the way to go?
Finally, what’s your prediction?
My gut feeling is an entertaining 1-1 with Madueke and Salah getting the goals.
I think both sides have enough in their armoury going forward to trouble the respective defences.
The main concern for Chelsea is who will replace the suspended Cucurella and Wesley Fofana at the back, both of whom have featured in all seven league games this season.
For Liverpool, it’s how they cope in transition when we are on the counter-attack.
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