The Premier League is up and running and in our fourth and final review of the top eight teams, we look at galvanised Merseyside club, Liverpool and big spenders Chelsea. We had earlier looked at the chances of Leicester City and Arsenal in part 1 of the series. Surprise performers from last season, Tottenham and Manchester City were highlighted upon in part 2, while big spenders Manchester United and West Ham were reviewed in part 3.
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Liverpool – 2015-16 League position 8th
Liverpool have been in transition for a number of years now, since the departure of Rafa Benitez, (their one trophy since, coming in 2011-12 - the League Cup under manager Kenny Dalglish). However, under the charismatic Jurgen Klopp, the Anfield club have reason to be optimistic for the future.
The German has already galvanised the current squad, got them hungry to perform and playing football in his image. They have had a very encouraging pre-season, winning the majority of their games with free-flowing attacking football and a high press tactic, attempting to win the ball back as high up the field as possible. This included the eye-catching 4-0 defeat of Barcelona at Wembley stadium.
Also read: Liverpool agree to sell Benteke to Palace
Since then the Premier league has had its first round and the Reds managed a thoroughly deserved 3-4 victory at the Emirates against Arsenal. This once again demonstrates Klopp's willingness to attack and score goals. This also highlights a potential shortfall in those tactics. Liverpool's defence could well be picked apart by teams willing to sit deep and play on the counter-attack. Will Klopp be able to manage the team in a disciplined way during those games and see them out?
The manager has added several players so far during the transfer window including the attack-minded Sadio Mane and Geroginio Wijnaldum, demonstrating Klopp's willingness to go forward as much as possible. They appear to still need some defensive additions before the squad looks balanced and capable of multiple clean sheets.
Will Klopp be able to better Liverpool's finish of 8th last season? Early form suggests they will but it's doubtful whether he will be able to conjure up anything higher than a fifth place this year.
Top 4 Verdict? - No, they'll just miss out.
Chelsea – 2015-16 league position 10th
2015-16 was a season to forget for the London side. What started out so promisingly with Jose Mourinho at the helm, finished miserably, trophy-less and out of Europe for the following season. All that is potentially set to change with Antonio Conte in charge.
Conte's CV is impressive in club football, managing championship winning teams in Italy in all but one of his seasons so far as a manager. From leading Juventus to 3 Serie A titles, he then joined the national team at the end of the 2014 and lead Italy to the quarterfinals of Euro 2016 where they narrowly lost to Germany after a penalty shoot-out. Can he give the fans what they crave and bring instant success back to Stamford Bridge?
Also read: EPL 2016-17: Chelsea 2-1 West Ham - 5 Talking Points
The new Chelsea manager already has several advantages over some of his rivals. The fact that they have no European games brings its own rewards on being able to "concentrate on the league". A cliché used perfectly by Leicester City during last season's title-winning campaign.
They are also able to utilise their large squad and their Billionaire owner with which to attract players to the club. These factors - should Conte be able to use them positively - can assist the Blues’ push for a top 4 place this season.
The two marquee players signed so far (Michy Batshuayi from Marseille and N'Golo Kante from Leicester City) demonstrates Conte's and Chelsea's seriousness to get back up with the main pack. Their ageing defence is still something of a concern, but in Thibaut Courtois they have one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League.
The close season brought many positive results, with only 1 loss against Real Madrid. The first Premier League result went in their favour too, with a 2-1 victory over top 4 rivals West Ham United. Has the Conte magic started to have it's effect already?
Top 4 Verdict? - Yes, they'll leapfrog Arsenal and finish 3rd.
