Life refuses to get any easier for Liverpool as they face a rampant Chelsea side on Sunday afternoon, seven days after beating Bolton 1-0 to secure their second consecutive Premier League win.
After reaching rock-bottom with defeat to Everton in mid-October, Roy Hodgson’s men are unbeaten in three matches despite never looking like the title-challenging side they are supposed to be.
Consecutive victories will have boosted the confidence at Anfield but a heavy defeat to the Blues, who have scored an average of 2.7 goals per game in the league this season and haven’t lost to Liverpool in their last four encounters, could bring the party to a sudden halt.
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On the other hand a surprise win could confirm the Reds as being back to their dominant best and injuries to some of Chelsea’s key players will help them no end.
Florent Malouda and Frank Lampard should be missing from the midfield, while Paulo Ferreira will remain at right-back should Jose Bosingwa fail to recover from a virus.
Joe Cole will definitely not face his former club and will remain in the stands alongside Dirk Kuyt and Daniel Agger. Hodgson could be helped by the possible return of Glen Johnson at full-back, where Jamie Carragher has struggled in recent weeks.
On a lively Sunday of Premier League football, two of Chelsea’s title rivals are in action. Manchester City, who seem to have replaced Liverpool for now in the ‘big four’, face a dangerous West Brom team where defeat could see them drop to seventh depending on other results.
In the lunchtime kick-off, Arsenal host another recently promoted, in-form team in the shape of Newcastle United.
The Magpies should be full of confidence after destroying neighbours Sunderland 5-1 last weekend, when skipper Kevin Nolan took his goal tally to seven in nine league games with a superb hat-trick.
Arsenal should have Nolan’s opposite number, Cesc Fabregas, fit again after the Spaniard missed the disappointing midweek Champions League defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk with a sore hamstring.
Manager Arsene Wenger will have to choose between Denilson and Jack Wilshere for the spot alongside Fabregas in central midfield, with Denilson starting last weekend due to Wilshere’s suspension, but the Englishman is available again and impressed against Shakhtar.
Of the seven changes for Wednesday’s 2-1 loss, Wilshere and Theo Walcott – who scored Arsenal’s goal – could be the only two that keep their places, unless the virus that stopped at least four players from traveling to Ukraine lingers.
