Chelsea have £106m issue that Liverpool could exploit to decide Premier League clash
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One player’s performance at the weekend could be the decisive factor for Liverpool as they face Chelsea at Anfield.
With top quality players on display for both sides, there are numerous players who could decide the game. All eyes will likely be on Cole Palmer because of his brilliant form that captured him the ‘Player of the Month’ award for September. Yet, Mohamed Salah has a strong record against Chelsea and Luis Diaz netted again during the international break and he will be looking to add to his tally of five league goals.
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Hide AdTheir last meeting was a heavily-contested cup final at Wembley as Liverpool edged Mauricio Pochettino’s side in a one-goal victory thanks to Virgil van Dijk’s late header. With no love lost between the two sides, their rivalry was even seen in the transfer market last summer (2023) as both Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo snubbed Merseyside for London.
And that’s where the game could well be won or lost on Sunday: in midfield. Ryan Gravenberch has been stupendous so far in the deep-lying midfield role while Caicedo has also been one of Chelsea’s best players making the midfield battle absolutely fundamental. The outcome of the game may well depend on the performance of Enzo Fernandez.
For Arne Slot’s side, they will be hoping he does play given Chelsea’s record when he starts is far worse than when he doesn’t. In all competitions since January 2023, Chelsea have a 84.2% win rate (19 games) when he doesn’t play and just a 32.3% rate when he does (65 games). However, while they have won more games than he’s missed overall, it has been an issue for Enzo Maresca.
Some of those figures may be warped as the games he does miss are mostly the cup games in which a weaker side is fielded but his overall stats are down. He is averaging less touches, less passes, less passes breaking the lines, less passes into the box and less shot creating-actions, compared to last season.
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Hide AdLavia may well be favoured in the long-term but has only just returned and isn’t match fit yet and with Renato Viega filling for Marc Cucurella at left-back, it leaves only Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall as the only other option. The most likely outcome is that he will start Enzo and he will have to cope with an energetic midfield that also has World Cup winning teammate Alexis Mac Allister and the tireless Dominik Szoboszlai, who will hound him whenever he receives the ball in his own half.
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Fernandez’s best game in England was arguably when he was given the Man of the Match award for his performance against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in August 2023. He was also commendable in the cup final defeat but he was run ragged in the most recent game at Anfield, winning just three of his 11 ground duels, losing possession 22 times as well as being dribbled past twice.
A similar performance to that and Liverpool will likely be able to get on top of the brave, expressive Chelsea side. Conversely, if he can find time on the ball, he could well unlock Liverpool’s high-line with his exceptional passing range that could set away their vibrant attack. The game could well depend on which Fernandez turns up on Sunday, never mind Palmer.
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