A Stamford Bridge cracker awaits as Premier League Champions Liverpool travel to the home of challengers Chelsea. The Blues are expected to make a stronger campaign this season due to their £200million spending spree and this is an early indicator of what direction their season would go.
After Chelsea beat City to mathematically confirm Liverpool’s league triumph. These two served up a 5-3 classic at Anfield in late July and pertinently have the same appetite after scoring seven between them on matchday one.
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With the laboured win over Brighton all but showing how much work is ahead for the players in terms of fitness and performance. Lampard might revert to the solid 3-4-3 shape as he did at Anfield. World Cup winner Olivier Giroud can be recalled for a demolition job against Liverpool’s (his second-favourite opponents with seven goals) shaky backline, with Timo Werner switching to the left to exploit the spaces behind Trent Alexander-Arnold.
On the other side of the pitch, Reece James stole the show of the right fullbacks from Tariq Lamptey with a match-winning performance last time out. His goal and assist is a timely reminder of his enormous potential and he would be hoping for another good outing.
Liverpool scored twice from set-pieces in both fixtures last season as they scored the most from corners (11) while Chelsea conceded the second-most (10) in the league. The Champions are sharp in their interplay in and around the box and smart with set pieces. Although Chelsea showed solidity against Brighton, they will be keen to catch out Kepa – who showed he hasn’t gotten over his fundamental errors last time out – having ruthlessly benefitted from his poor form in July.
Jürgen Klopp’s men are adding Thiago Alcântara to the heart of an excellent winning team and look primed for their first title defence in 30 years. However, rivals have learnt to stay alert to errors when they pass out from the back and expose their high defensive line, as Leeds showed on matchday one. Although Thiago would improve on the former, he is unavailable on Sunday evening.
Ultimately, Lampard and Klopp need this early fixture against a rival in what would be another intense season, and so does the world.
Breathtaking football that brings fans and neutrals together is precious in these unusual times.
