Liverpool face a testing game against Chelsea today

Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez will be Liverpool’s key man against Chelsea

Liverpool will head to Stamford Bridge today to lock horns with Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea who currently sit third in the Premier League with 37 points, 1 point above Brendan Rodgers’s team. Both the teams have their own sets of problems and will hope to end this year with a win. The last meeting between the two teams ended in a 2-2 draw which was marred by Suarez’s biting offence of Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic. The clashes between these two sides have always been entertaining and today’s encounter will surely live up to that tradition.

Both the team’s managers are old acquaintances and it will be interesting to see them face-off against each other for the first time. Brendan Rodgers was handpicked by Jose Mourinho when he had first taken over the Blues in 2004 to coach Chelsea’s youth side, a post that he held until 2008 after which he left to manage Watford.

Rodgers has had a lot of experience with Chelsea and seems to know exactly what makes them tick as he has not lost a single match to the Blues, both games ended in 1-1 and 2-2 draws respectively with him at the helm. The 40-year-old has really changed Liverpool’s fortunes this season and has made them from a struggling team to title contenders. The Irishman had led Liverpool to massive victories this December before undeservedly losing 2-1 to Manchester City on Boxing Day.

One name that cannot be missed while taking about Liverpool is that of prolific striker Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan left a bad taste in Chelsea’s mouth after biting Blues defender Branislav Ivanovic on 21st April in a 2-2 draw. Suarez was then condemned by everyone around him and was slapped with a 10 game ban along with an uncertain future but has since emerged a changed man.

The 26-year-old has scored 19 goals in 14 appearances since the end of his ban and has undoubtedly emerged as one of the best strikers in the world. Suarez has an excellent goal scoring record against Chelsea, putting 3 goals past the Blues in the 4 times that he has played against them. Chelsea will try their best to keep him in check but once Suarez is determined there is no stopping him.

In spite of their superiority in the strikers department Liverpool will be without some of their key players when they travel to Stamford Bridge. Skipper Steven Gerrard will be out for a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury while key defenders Jose Enrique and Jon Flanagan will also miss the match with various injuries.

Daniel Sturridge will also be out for a while with an ankle sprain. The former Blue was having an excellent season with 11 goals in 16 games but picked up an ankle knock after the grueling Merseyside Derby on 23rd November. Liverpool will also be without Victor Moses, who is on loan from Chelsea, due to contract terms.

Chelsea head into the match with their own set of problems. In spite of going unbeaten in their last 4 games the Blues have never really got the goals flowing this season. Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto’o and Demba Ba share 5 goals between them which is extremely shocking for such a big team.

Jose Mourinho’s men have had to mostly rely on their midfielders to produce the goals this season. Chelsea will have a hard time scoring past the Reds with such unimpressive statistics.

Chelsea’s only saving grace is their back four who have put in quite a sturdy performance this season. Goalkeeper Petr Cech has kept a clean sheet in the last 2 games is hoping to keep his 208th clean sheet for the Blues today which will put him on par with Blues legend Peter Bonetti.

Both the teams will play under interesting conditions today and I expect a draw at the most from the two titans.