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This weekend, potential Liverpool title rival Chelsea will travel to Merseyside.
Of course, it is not to face Liverpool, as they ironically head to West London, the home of Frank Lampard’s men, to face Fulham. Instead, Chelsea will travel north to face Everton’s neighbors at the start of Saturday night.
At kick-off, Liverpool players will most likely settle into their hotel rooms and watch this match with great interest given Chelsea’s impressive form in recent weeks.
They are currently just two points behind Liverpool and could potentially jump to first place with a win against Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Some may have predicted that Lampard’s men may be in first place this season, particularly given that they invested £ 220 million in a plethora of players who, as individuals, would likely have become the biggest signing of the summer in another. club.
However, despite this excellent window, there was another school of thought that opined that these new recruits would require some kind of rest period before we see them in their prime and as a result, it was unlikely that we would see Chelsea as a legitimate Premier League. contenders this year.
This thought process seemed to be reaffirmed by the fact that they started the season quite simply, winning just two of their first six Premier League games. That streak included a 2-0 home loss to Liverpool, a loss that felt revealing in terms of their potential title-chasing credentials.
However, since their goalless draw at Old Trafford in match week six, Chelsea have won five of their next six league games, leaving points only against the high-flying Spurs in a 0-0 draw.
Also, its underlying numbers look great on both ends. In terms of shots generated by 90, they rank fifth with an average of 14.1 and their combined total expected goals without penalty (NPxG) of 16.6 is third best in the league only behind Leeds and Liverpool.
However, they actually jump to second behind the Reds when we look at Post-shot xG (PSxG), illustrating the benefits of introducing new clinical forwards into their attack this season.
His biggest problem last season was undoubtedly the number of goals he conceded. Their 54 against total was the eighth-highest in the league, even though they had the fourth-best expected goals against total (xGA).
Among the purchases this summer, upgrading the defense and replacing Kepa was a top priority. His recruitment of Mendy in the summer draws some parallels to the way Liverpool brought in Alisson to launch them from the top four hopefuls to true title contenders. Like the acquisition of Thiago Silva when compared to the arrival of Virgil Van Dijk.
Clearly, the Dutchman is a younger and better defender than Silva, especially at this stage in his career. However, the Brazilian acts as a great short-team solution for this season with pockets of elite-level experience.
The consequence of improved defense and a better goalkeeper is that they currently rank in the top four in the league with the fewest shots faced and have only conceded twice in their previous six league games.
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Despite the quality of their new signings and their obvious improvements as a unit this year, when comparing their best 11 against Liverpool’s best 11, most would back Jurgen Klopp’s side as superior.
However, this season, players are struggling to meet the physical demands of playing matches every two to three days due to the lingering impact of the COVID pandemic.
This means team size and depth are more important than ever, and frankly no team in the division, including Liverpool, has the quality of depth that Lampard has at his disposal. As a result, the former England international is able to replace and rotate within his squad without a major drop in terms of on-field performance.
Klopp’s team and academy players have served him well so far, highlighted by the fact that the Reds are still at the top of the table despite all the adversities they have faced thus far. However, building on the above, Chelsea are looking to have the potential to push them all the way this season.
For that reason, Liverpool players can grudgingly hope that their Everton rivals can do them an unlikely favor this weekend.
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