By Jordan Carreno

Matchday 34 sees the Reds play host to Chelsea at Anfield. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:30 AM EST on Sunday.

Liverpool v Chelsea — 04/14/2019 1630 GMT

It is another massive game in an already stress filled title push for Jurgen and his team on Sunday. Chelsea come to town fighting for a top 4 place and hoping to put a massive dent, again, in Liverpool’s title hopes. Given the general vitriol in recent times between the two clubs, the stakes of the day, and the quality of the two sides, it is sure to be a proper dose of Premier League football. As always, all three LFC Tampa Bay pubs will be open, serving, and showing the match, so come on down and join your fellow Bay Area Reds in cheering on the lads. With all that being said, let’s get into the talking points.

Here’s to you, Jordan Henderson

With Chelsea coming to town at the backend of a title challenge, it feels appropriate that Jordan Henderson would start to remind folks of just how good he is as a footballer. 5 years ago, after picking up a late red card in the previous match against City, Henderson was forced to watch from the stands as Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side played spoilers to Liverpool’s dreams. He had played a massive part in the Red’s push for the elusive Premier League title that season as a box-to-box midfielder, so some have pointed to his absence in that match as the reason why it all came tumbling down.

Since then, and specifically with the arrival of Klopp, Henderson has been asked to play a deeper, more cautious role than the one he had played under Brendan Rodgers. It meant less marauding runs, less pressing higher up the pitch, and safer, less spectacular passing. Because of this, over the last 5 years the memories of the creative and industrious Henderson had faded.

Though Liverpool’s captain was merely sticking to the instructions that his manager had given him, the way in which he adapted his game to suit Klopp’s system was used as a stick to beat Henderson with. In reality, Henderson was the only person that could properly fill the glaring hole at the 6 for Klopp until a better option could be found. Also, our captain was merely setting the tone for the squad to follow Klopp’s tactics even if it meant sacrificing his own desires to play more freely and aggressively.

Jordan Henderson has reminded supporters and Klopp of his true abilities

That suitable option was found in the form of Fabinho, who has now been groomed into the ideal 6 for Jurgen Klopp’s system. The realization that Henderson was no longer the best 6 in the squad gave way to a conversation between Jurgen and Jordan where the Liverpool captain requested a chance to go back to playing the style of football he is more accustomed to. Klopp acquiesced in the form of a Southampton substitution for him to go and change the course of what was looking to become a devastating draw. Henderson proved his point by injecting energy into the team and playing with the passion and intensity we crave to see as supporters.

That cameo was then rewarded with a start against Porto in the Champions League for Henderson. Our captain once again proved his point with a stellar display in a box-to-box role. He could be seen pressing deep in the Porto half, winning balls in transition, and playing the creative, attacking football around the box that this Liverpool side has been missing at times this season. The hockey assist for Bobby’s goal was sublime. The cross for Mane’s disallowed goal was near perfect. Reminders of Jordan Henderson’s best qualities were on display.

It all sets up perfectly for Liverpool’s captain to put the final touches on this small redemption story he has been living over the past week. I am sure getting to play a match against Chelsea in a title push will add a slight personal vendetta vibe to the match for Henderson. The thoughts of what might have been had he been able to play a part in the 13/14 match will have undoubtedly entered the midfielder’s mind at some point following that fateful day. Now, he has a chance to play that scenario out.

Exorcising Demons

If Liverpool are to finally win their first Premier League title, and first top division championship in thirty years, then there are demons that must be exorcised. This Liverpool side have already done well to cleanse the fanbase of feeling dread when only leading by 1 goal late. They’ve also done all they can to evict the dread within the fanbase when going down a goal. Now, the team have the chance to finally, once and for all, help Liverpool supporters the world over let go of the pain suffered from that defeat to Chelsea back in 13/14.

Though Liverpool will only have three players in the squad that were at the club for that loss to Chelsea, the fans sat at Anfield and those watching around the globe will still be haunted by the ghosts of that ultimately failed title challenge. For us as supporters, the way that season ended cast a gruesome shadow over what was otherwise a magical season for the club. It has made it almost impossible to enjoy some of the incredible things that Liverpool side did because of the way it ended.

Plus, the infamous “Gerrard Slip” has been a moment which Chelsea fans, a breed of people we have all come to despise, have held over our heads. It wouldn’t be surprising to hear the away end belt out their version of the Steven Gerrard chant less than a minute after the opening kick-off. Every time we meet, they remind us of how our greatest hero suffered his greatest setback at their hands. It is almost as if denying Liverpool glory was as good enough as a trophy for Chelsea supporters.

That this fixture falls at a similar time on the schedule and with the Reds in a similar scenario as 13/14 will only bring those feelings, memories, and demons to the forefront. The prematch coverage will talk about it, the commentators on the day will mention it, and the travelling support will sing about it. Though the Liverpool team on the pitch will have no real connection to those events, for us, the supporters, it will be another reminder of the tragic end to that 13/14 season. For the players, it will be another opportunity to inject a large dose of belief into the support around them and finally help us all to finally move on.

Leaving Chelsea Blue

Sarri finds himself under a lot of pressure after a great start to his Chelsea career

Whilst there will be plenty of talk about the “Gerrard Slip” and the pressure of the title race for Liverpool, there is an equal amount of pressure on our opponents in this match. If you can remember, Chelsea started the season going 12 matches unbeaten. At that time, they were only 4 points behind league leaders Manchester City and were looking like possible title challengers under first year coach Sarri. Since then, things have gone a bit south for the London club and now they find themselves in a real fight for a top 4 place.

Plus, it’s not just the results that have gone south for Chelsea since that early season spurt. Chelsea’s supporters fondness for Sarri has dwindled in the second half of the season and the Italian has found himself on the end of the type of anti-manager sentiment that is usually reserved for their managers in their 2nd or 3rd season. Also, it is not just the fans that have turned on Sarri, even his own players have seemingly begun to lose faith. Kepa, Chelsea’s world record goalkeeper signing, refused to be subbed off in the club’s Carabao Cup final loss to City in February. In 6 shorts months, Sarri has gone from being widely applauded for his playing style to a much maligned and marginalized character at Chelsea.

Even worse for the club is the fact that they’re now staring down the barrel of an incoming transfer ban at a point where they need to do much rebuilding and are likely to lose their star player, Eden Hazard, to Real Madrid. In a world where the top players want to play Champions League football, not finishing in the top 4 could see a mass exodus for Chelsea with no ability for the club to bring in new recruits. Whilst Liverpool will be contending @with the pressures of winning a title, our opponents on Sunday are, in a sense, dealing with the pressures of preserving Chelsea’s status as a club in England.

Though Chelsea are currently third, 3 points clear of 5th place Arsenal, they also have a game in hand and could easily find themselves down in 5th if they fail to get a result at Anfield on Sunday. Falling out of the top 4 and possibly losing even more ground will only add to the increasing pressure at Chelsea. If the Reds come out early and find a way to get ahead, there’s a chance the travelling support could go from mocking Liverpool to deriding their own team and manager. It is on Liverpool to make sure Chelsea feel the full weight of the pressure they are under themselves.

Prediction

We are back to the domestic table and I have not been looking forward to typing this. Somehow, someway, David had managed to claw himself back by picking up a 5 pointer by correctly predicting the 3–1 scoreline against Southampton. I myself picked up 1 point for predicting a Liverpool win, so we are now all square again at 44 points. Title Race On.

Again, I will be interested to see how Sarri decides to come at us. Though it is most likely he plays his usual system, given the scenario Chelsea now find themselves in they might want to be even more cautious. A draw at Anfield for Chelsea wouldn’t be a terrible result, so he might resist opening his team up to the benefit of Liverpool’s counter.

Regardless, I think we see the 4–3–3 again for Liverpool. With Henderson taking the role of the 8 by the scruff of the neck, Liverpool can get the same level of creativity out of the 4–3–3 as they do the 4–2–3–1. Plus, with Chelsea’s wingbacks likely to be coming up the pitch, it will leave space on the wings for Mane and Salah to exploit. I think the only changes we see to the side are Robbo at leftback, Matip in for Lovren, and Wjinaldum in place of Keita.

This will be a tough one and will probably go in line with our recent results in being tense and dramatic. Ultimately, I think we have enough to take care of this Chelsea side and Anfield will be rocking to help push the lads over the line. 2–1 with a late winner.

David’s Prediction: I’m in England for this one and just before heading out on the town last night, Sky Sports was nice enough to play a montage of the Gerrard slip for what felt like a length of Alex Ferguson stoppage time. I want nothing more than the memory of that day to be replaced with a proper goal fest for the Reds, but I can’t see this being completely one sided. I think we come out hot, they respond, and then it becomes a tug of war, which the Reds win by the tightest of margins, as Mo Salah simply won’t let the team lose. 3–2, demons exorcised. Up the Mighty Reds!