Having qualified midweek for the knockout phase of the Champions League, Chelsea will be in a buoyant mood as they head to Anfield for a keenly anticipated Premier League showdown with Liverpool.
Blues boss Antonio Conte made some subtle changes to his lineup for the match with Qarabag, which ended in a resounding 4-0 win. Star of the show Willian, handed an increasingly rare start, scored two goals and also won two penalties that were converted by Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas.
The Brazilian's resurgent form is unlikely to be enough to earn him a place in the Italian's starting XI against Liverpool and similarly David Luiz -- who came in for Andreas Christensen in the middle of the back three -- will likely find himself sitting next to his countryman on the bench at Anfield as the 21-year old Denmark international returns to make a third straight league start.
Striker Alvaro Morata was benched until midway through the second half against Qarabag with Conte deploying Hazard as a False No. 9 against the Azerbaijani side. Effective as the Belgian was in the role, Morata will be expected to lead the line against Liverpool.
Chelsea's top flight form is noteworthy. Four straight wins have gone a long way to repairing the damage done by unexpected losses to Burnley and Crystal Palace. The defeat at home to league leaders Manchester City was more predictable, with many Blues fans talking about a gulf in class between the sides.
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Conte has quietly revolutionised Chelsea's tactical setup since that 1-0 defeat. Last season when the going got tough early on, the former Italy and Juventus manager canned 4-3-2-1 and adopted 3-4-3, a system that had worked well for him in his previous roles. It's fair to say that by the time his counterparts at other clubs figured out a way of countering the Blues' revamped style of play, it was too late. Chelsea embarked on a club record 13-game winning streak, skipped away from their rivals and won the title.
This time around, somewhat under the radar, Conte has tweaked his formation to an unorthodox 3-5-1-1 set up. The system makes the most of the passing and creative skills of Fabregas and Hazard, allowing them to play more give-and-go football with Morata while in the midfield trenches N'Golo Kante and Tiemoue Bakayoko have had more time to go about their business of shielding the back three and neutralising the opposition. From a defensive point of view, Christensen has instinctively tapped into the logic of Conte's thinking. The result, as witnessed in the recent convincing victories against Manchester United and West Brom, was more possession, clean sheets and goals. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Presently, Chelsea in third place sit nine points behind leaders Manchester City and three points ahead of Liverpool who are fifth. The Reds are in free-scoring form, particularly at home with former Blue Mohamed Salah, whose career at Stamford Bridge never got going, proving to be their main source of goals.
Salah has found the net nine times this season, making him the Premier League's leading marksman, and the Egypt international will be keen to prove a point against his former employers, who afforded him just 13 top-flight starts after signing him in 2014. They loaned him out first to Fiorentina and then Roma, the latter becoming a permanent move in August 2016. A year later, Salah moved to Liverpool and he has proved to be a superb signing by Jurgen Klopp.
Slowing Salah will certainly be a key factor if Chelsea are to maintain their impressive recent run of form, but with Kante in their ranks and Conte's tactical nous at the fore, the Blues will be well-equipped not only to contain the Egyptian but to wreak their own kind of goal-scoring havoc. Hazard and Morata have worked up a dazzling intuitive partnership of late that is producing goals and assists, and the duo will fancy their chances against an inconsistent Liverpool defence that shipped three goals midweek as the Reds surrendered a 3-0 lead in their Champions League game with Sevilla to draw 3-3.
The balance of the game could swing in the favour of the team whose manager makes the best tactical calls and substitutions. Klopp comes across as a personable character that supporters of all clubs would love to have a beer or two with and Conte is cut from the same cloth. They are men of the people and great for the Premier League. The difference between the two is that the Chelsea manager appears to have the upper hand when it boils down to providing innovative solutions to problems that deliver immediate results.
It won't be easy at Anfield, it rarely is, but Conte will have a precise plan and his meticulous preparation, knowledge and understanding of the game could prove to be the telling factor in what should be a thrilling contest.
Source: espn.co.uk