This time last season, there was still a faint hope Liverpool would lift the title.
This season, it’s looking increasingly unlikely they’ll get above fifth.
A huge regression, which in part is due to the loss of Luis Suarez to Barcelona and Daniel Sturridge’s injury woes.
But it’s the job of a manager and the club to make sure that these eventualities are covered for and they plainly weren’t. Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert were signed as back-up.
That’s one past-it, cumbersome striker and Rickie Lambert, who’ll work hard for the side but is far from world-class.
Chelsea on the other hand, have gone from strength-to-strength. Their new signings never looked like disappointments and their coach also brought something to the table which Liverpool sadly lacked: a pragmatic approach.
José Mourinho isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he knows how to win titles. That might not always mean playing the most attractive football, but that doesn’t matter when you’re winning.
Brendan Rodgers has often looked naive during his spell as Liverpool manager. Never more so than when Liverpool lost to Chelsea in the closing stages of last season.
They went all-out attack in that game and were caught out. We expect a similar result today as this Chelsea side don’t seem like the type to take their foot off the pedal.
We’re backing a 2-0 Chelsea win and Cesc Fabregas to score first. This is priced at 60/1.
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