Saturday, 28 December 2013







Premier League Preview

Title hopefuls Chelsea and Liverpool meet at Stamford Bridge

Jose Mourinho: Will be looking for Chelsea to kick on in the New Year Chelsea and Liverpool will be looking to end 2013 on a high and with their Premier League
title pursuit firmly on track. The Blues sit just two points off the pace at present, with the festive period delivering a hard-fought goaless draw away at Arsenal and a narrow 1-0 victory over Swansea City.

Jose Mourinho will feel that his side still have a few
more gears to shift through and will be delighted to
have them so well placed with plenty in the tank. It is, however, his job to unlock that potential, with
Chelsea grinding out results rather than blowing
opposition away. If they can overcome Liverpool, that would put down an important marker heading into the New Year.

It has been a testing run through to the end of the
calendar year for the Reds, with a trip to Stamford
Bridge coming hot on the heels of a visit to the Etihad Stadium. Liverpool left Manchester on Boxing Day disappointed to be on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline against City, with boss Brendan Rodgers angered by the performance of the match officials. They have little time to dwell on that setback, though,
as it is vital that they dust themselves down for
another heavyweight tussle in the capital.

Rodgers' men, who led the way on Christmas Day, are only three points adrift of table-topping Arsenal and are desperate to put themselves in contention for a first top flight crown in 24 years.

One thing is sure, games between these two heavyweights had never been a dull moment, and we are guaranteed a crunch and mouthwatering battle come sunday.

This fixture last season saw the two teams shared points after a 1 - 1 draw, with Suarez equalizing for Liverpool after John Terry gave chelsea the lead and was later stretched off.

Chelsea's Last 5 EPL matches

Chelsea 1-0 Swasea
Arsenal 0-0 Chelsea
Chelsea 2-1 Crystal Palace
Stoke city 3-2 chelsea
Sunderland 3-4 chelsea

Chelsea will be without the suspended Ramires
for the crunch clash. The Brazil midfielder picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Swansea and serves a one-match ban, with Frank Lampard likely to return to the starting line-up in his place. Mourinho is likely to rotate his options once more,
with Cesar Azpilicueta and Gary Cahill in line to return
in defence at the expense of Ashley Cole and David
Luiz, while Fernando Torres could start up front
against his former club.

Liverpool's Last 5 EPL match

Man city 2-1 Liverpool
Liverpool 3-1 Cardiff city
Tottenham 0-5 Liverpool
Liverpool 4-1 Westham utd
Liverpool 5-1 Norwich city

Liverpool defender Jon Flanagan saw a hamstring complaint keep him out againstManchester City but he may be ready to return on Sunday.
Captain Steven Gerrard is progressing well from a
similar problem but Rodgers will continue to bolster
his ranks with reserve and academy players as he
looks to guide the Reds through their injury troubles.
Striker Daniel Sturridge (ankle), left-back Jose Enrique
and centre-back Sebastian Coates (both knee) are still sidelined until the New Year, while Vitor Moses is
ineligible under the terms of his loan deal.

My Prediction 2 - 2
drop your thought in the comment box.

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