Premier League - Liverpool vs Chelsea

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Premier League Matchday 11 sees Chelsea travel to Anfield to face off against rivals Liverpool in a repeat of the extraordinary match that played out there at the end of the last campaign. Indeed, much of the focus in the lead-up to this match will be that now-infamous result - the one which significantly dented, and ultimately critically contributed to the torpedoing of, the Reds' title push.










Indeed, it was a game which very much stopped the soaring Merseysiders in their tracks. Brendan Rodgers' men had won a sensational 11 games on the spin, and were closing in on an historic and long, long awaited Premier League title to add to their vast collection of honours both European and domestic. The hosts came out of the blocks firing, dominating possession, peppering the Chelsea goal, and even coming agonisingly close to taking the lead through Mamadou Sakho, but were left shell-shocked when on the stroke of halftime, a now-notorious slip from Reds captain Steven Gerrard presented the ball to Chelsea striker Demba Ba on the edge of the centre circle, who charged into the home side's half and made no mistake in finishing, putting the ball to the left and past Simon Mignolet and his side ahead going into the break. The second period saw Brendan Rodgers' men apply little less pressure than they presented in the first, but still saw their efforts go in vain, before on 90 minutes, the coup de grâce was delivered when Willian and former Reds hero Fernando Torres broke free into a completely empty Liverpool half, whereon the former slotted the ball home to seal his side their win, and send both fans and manager alike celebrating perceptibly in euphoria, and condemn the Merseysiders to bitter defeat that would end in their finishing second best in the final Premier League table.










In more recent goings-on, the sides attained contrasting results the weekend before in their Matchday 10 fixtures. Liverpool sunk to yet another disappointing result as they were beaten a goal to nil by Alan Pardew's resurgent Newcastle side at St. James' Park courtesy of a goal from substitute Ayoze Pérez just over 15 minutes from time, while the Blues picked up another win in the Premier League against West London rivals in Queens Park Rangers as a sensational goal from Oscar and a late penalty converted expectedly coolly by Eden Hazard cancelled out Rs striker Charlie Austin's equaliser around the 60th minute to hand José Mourinho's men another 3 points.










The Blues' record at Anfield in the Premier League under José Mourinho, perhaps unsurprisingly, is quite good. In the 5 games the Portuguese has overseen there as Chelsea gaffer, 3 have been victories, and just one a defeat, picking up 10 points of a possible 15, and the Reds' struggles this season will undoubtedly only see the Special One and his side all the more eager to extend that record by another win and another 3 points come the weekend.
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The sides come into this game on the back of vastly differing 14/15 campaigns thus far. The Merseysiders, following their superb season last term that saw them finish League runners-up 2 points off title-winners Manchester City and 2 above José Mourinho's Blues, have had a shocker of a first 2½ months to the current campaign, with just 4 wins out of 10 and as many losses (including just 2 home wins in 5) on the board so far for the 5-time European champions, conceding a miserable 13 goals in those ten while scoring only the same amount at the other end. Manager Brendan Rodgers will be eager to stop the rot, and there can surely be few better ways of beginning a revival of fortune and form than a home win over the League's leaders. Chelsea, on totally the other hand, have of course had a storming opening quarter to the season, remaining unbeaten in every competition, including 8 wins out of 10 in the Premier League, topping the goalscoring charts in the process, and holding the joint-second best defensive record. José Mourinho's side are also, hardly surprisingly, unbeaten against all the Top 6 sides they've faced this season, taking 8 points of a possible 12 from away clashes against Manchesters United and City and Everton, and a London derby at home to Arsenal, and the Chelsea manager will doubtless be eyeing an extension of that run at the weekend.





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As a result, the pair head into Saturday's clash 1^st and 7^th in the table, with 12 points separating them. A win for the Blues would extend that gaping divide to 15, surely all but killing off any vestigial hopes the Reds may have had earlier in the season of once again challenging for the title, while a win home win, as mentioned, could well breathe new life into Brendan Rodgers' men and spur them on to a resurrection of form and an ascension up the table, especially with most if not all of the League's other top sides Chelsea aside continuing to blow hot and cold.
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Missing for the Blues is striker Loic Remy, with midfielder John Obi Mikel in a race to be fit in time for the game, while Liverpool will be without defensive trio Jon Flanagan, Jose Enrique and Mamadou Sakho, while striker and former-Blue Daniel Sturridge will undergo a late fitness test.
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Anthony Taylor, who last officiated for Liverpool in their 2-1 away win over West Ham United at Upton Park in April and for Chelsea in their 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns in February, has been appointed referee for Saturday's affair.
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Have a feeling we lose this.

I am very pumped for this match.

Should be a good game, one that we need to win. Not least, to turn around the poor showing of today.


They're in poor form, so lets capitalise on it, shall we?

We've hardly been in great form ourselves, have we? We're picking up results but the performances have been poor, and imo have been getting progressively more so over the last few weeks.


That said, I'd take a poor performance and a good result this weekend 6 ways to Sunday.

Meh, last too games I expected to be hard, but we are very much in better form than they are.

Scraped by QPR at home with a penalty, meh at United, needed an own goal to overcome fourth-tier Shrewsbury. Not to mention tonight's shambles. Hardly what I'd classify as encouraging showings.

Liverpool's Kolo Toure “can't wait” for the chance to exact some payback on Chelsea:
The Blues dealt the Anfield side a terminal blow in last year's title race, and the Ivorian defender says he and his teammates are ready for revenge this weekend
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/liverpools-kolo-toure-cant-wait-4574477

"They cost us the league, and now we have the chance to beat them – I can’t wait for that, honestly."

"Is it a chance for payback? Definitely. It’s a very important game when you think what they did to us last season. And it’s a great chance to end any argument about them being invincibles too. But the most important thing is we want to win the game."

Luis Suarez: If I was Steven Gerrard I'd have quit after slip against Chelsea:
Luis Suarez admits he would have considered quitting football if he had slipped in the Chelsea game like Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard did
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/531863/Luis-Suarez-Steven-Gerrard-Liverpool-Chelsea

"If I had been in Stevie’s shoes, I don’t know if I would have been able to carry on playing."

"Emotionally, it must have been very, very hard."

"In the previous weeks, so much had been said about him, the expectation had built so much, the talk had been about him leading Liverpool, his club, to a first title in over 20 years, on the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, in which his cousin had died, and then that happens."

"The captain, the former youth-teamer, the one-club man, a Scouser born and bred, and he was the unlucky one to make a crucial mistake."

"He still hadn’t won the league title. Stevie had started to believe, we all had. And now it had been virtually taken away from him and like that, with him slipping against Chelsea."

Are you expected to park the bus again or not considering the form we are in?

Stevie should listen to Eminem more often

Spoiler:

Nishy wrote:Are you expected to park the bus again or not considering the form we are in?

We'll play a defencive game but we won't park the bus.

About 45 seconds in.

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted. one moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

It's not funny when I have to spell it out for you.

Nishy wrote:Are you expected to park the bus again or not considering the form we are in?

Yes, but not as heavily as last time

Shed wrote:

Kick wrote:Stevie should listen to Eminem more often

Spoiler:

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life long eminem fan crew checking in

ffs shed, we're talking about an all time classic, do you live under a rock? How can you not know it

Who could even make the words out?

Kick wrote:

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted. one moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

It's not funny when I have to spell it out for you.

Who could even make the words out?

fatman123 wrote:

Shed wrote:

Kick wrote:Stevie should listen to Eminem more often

Spoiler:

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life long eminem fan crew checking in

ffs shed, we're talking about an all time classic, do you live under a rock? How can you not know it

Never listened to Eminem before in my life

Your loss brah, srs

Somehow I highly doubt that

Shed, did you know most people call me 'the customer'? I bet you cant guess why

I'm not a big fan of his, but that song won an Oscar ffs. It's one of those songs which defines the 00's.

fatman123 wrote:Shed, did you know most people call me 'the customer'? I bet you cant guess why

Your nickname among the streetwalkers of Sydney is of no interest to me

Shed wrote:

fatman123 wrote:Shed, did you know most people call me 'the customer'? I bet you cant guess why

Your nickname among the streetwalkers of Sydney is of no interest to me

It doesnt seem like anything is of interest to you

Dat reply