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Liverpool v Chelsea: "Take that!"

Liverpool v Chelsea - The Crucial Game

It may only be a few months since Liverpool and Chelsea clashed at Stamford Bridge but psychologically a lot has changed since then. At the time, both clubs were riding high on a wave of confidence.

Liverpool were undefeated and Chelsea were protecting an unbeaten home record that dated back to the reign of Claudio Ranieri. It was a shock to some when Liverpool secured a 1-0 victory and managed to completely dominate their hosts, so much so that many people started giving the Liverpool title charge a lot more respect.

Media Vultures Circling the Air
Since that day though, there have been numerous stumbles along the way and no doubt the media vultures will be circling Anfield waiting to pick the meat off the carcass of the defeated manager.

Both teams are still in contention at the top of the table but with Manchester United having regained the top spot after emerging triumphant from their games in hand, victory in this game is going to be crucial for either side to reignite their title charge.

A return to Champions League football is not too far away which will add further pressure to both sides, so the clash between Liverpool and Chelsea is going to be an all important fixture with regards to how the English Premier League pans out. And of course, you just know that Alex Ferguson will be sitting back and hoping that both teams do some serious damage to one, if not both, of their league winning credentials.

Dropped Points at Anfield Costly
As the home team, Liverpool probably start the favourites but picking up points at Anfield has not been guaranteed this season with teams like Stoke and West Ham coming to Merseyside and successfully putting up the shutters.

Local rivals Everton have also come away with two 1-1 draws recently, in the League and FA Cup, which proves that Liverpool are struggling to break teams down.

The latter of the 1-1 draws also ensured that Liverpool must face an extra match, the replay at Goodison Park not being what the club would have wanted. When you add all this to the disruption caused by Rafa Benitez and his regular outbursts (whether its pro-Manchester United bias or his dissatisfaction at the contract on offer from the club) as well as renewed speculation that the club will change owners once again, it's a wonder that the Liverpool squad can keep their mind focused on the action.

Robbie Keane Leaving?
One striker who apparently doesn't have to worry about the action at the moment is Robbie Keane, who wasn't even included in the squad for the FA Cup tie against Everton.

Inevitably this has led to speculation that the Irishman may be on the way out of Anfield before the transfer window closes with the spenders of the year Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur showing an interest although the annual rumours that Robbie Keane may be heading off to Glasgow to join Celtic, have surfaced yet again and its possible a loan spell to the end of the season would be beneficial to all parties.

Of course, knowing how obtuse Benitez is, there is every chance that he may reintroduce Keane back into the squad in the run up to the game versus Chelsea and he could feature alongside Fernando Torres.

The Spaniard has also struggled since his return from injury but there has been a general lack of drive and ambition in the Liverpool team since they demolished Newcastle United over the Christmas and New Year period.

That was the day when Stevie Gerrard was then later arrested but to be fair to the Liverpool captain, he has not let the off field circus affect him too much as his goals in both games against city rivals Everton will have shown. If Liverpool want to overcome Chelsea, they will need yet another leading performance from their captain.

Chelsea Struggling of Late
Of course, it all depends on what Chelsea turn up at Anfield because if the Blues perform in the manner that they did at Old Trafford a few weeks back, even a disjointed Liverpool side should be able to see them off.

The shine has definitely come off Big Phil Scolari and if the rumours are to be believed, the Chelsea dressing room is an unhappy place to be. The clubs main strikers Drogba and Anelka have been struggling for goals and smiles of late which has heaped more pressure on midfielders like Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack to come up with the goods to keep Chelsea in the hunt for honours.

Both players have did so in recent weeks in the league and FA Cup but it's not every game where you can rely on a midfielder firing home from 25 yards for a goal. Chelsea need to get back to basics and try to recapture some of their early season joy if they are to have any chance of securing silverware at the end of the season.

Blues' Weakened Defence
The fact that Chelsea aren't scoring too many goals shouldn't necessarily be a problem but their defence is nowhere near as secure as it used to be either.

A lot of this can be explained by the absence of Michael Essien from the team as he is a rock that any team in Europe would be delighted to build their team around. Essien is still over a month away from first team action and so will be once again absent from the Blues line up at Anfield.

John Terry has suffered a few injuries and hasn't had a regular centre half partner in recent times which doesn't help, nor does the fact that Petr Cech is making a few mistakes every few games so when you consider they have a misfiring forward line and a frail defence, Chelsea are doing well to hang on in there for this seasons' title race.

Will Big Phil Last?
This season has already shown that the big clubs can drop points anywhere so there is no chance this match will decide anything with regards to how the top of the league will pan out but another defeat for Chelsea would put them further behind in the quest for the 2008/09 title and raise serious doubts over the long term future of Phil Scolari.

With the credit crunch occupying Chelsea's owner to a far greater degree at the moment, perhaps his mind is not fully focused on football matters but he will not be oblivious to the fact that his club appears to have gone backwards from last season.

by Andrew Reilly

for The Silver Circle at www.footballtip.co.uk

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