Well it's the biggest game of the weekend, and the biggest game of the season so far for both Liverpool and Chelsea. Currently Liverpool and Chelsea are tied at the top of the Premier League table, with Chelsea ahead on goal difference. Liverpool are without Fernando Torres, though Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso are fit. I think most Reds supporters are just hoping to escape from this one with a tie, as Liverpool's record at Stamford Bridge isn't great. Torres finally broke the scoring curse last year during the Champions League, but Liverpool still ended up losing that game.
Chelsea look very, very good at the moment. There's no denying that, at the moment, they're the ones everyone is pinning to win the title. Manchester United are off to a bad start, and Arsenal are looking good, but not great. So basically, regardless of how premature it is, whoever wins the match tonight will probably be considered the favorite to win the title. And if I were a betting person (which I'm not), I'd put money on Chelsea, despite my very real desire to see Liverpool win it all.
Chelsea just have too much depth and too much strength at every position, whereas I feel like Liverpool just aren't quite at the peak that they need to be in order to sustain a title challenge. Torres hasn't looked quite as devastating as last season (which isn't a dig by any means, every player has ups and downs), Agger needs some time to get settled in the back, and Keane needs to start scoring. Gerrard has, at times, looked excellent, and other times just looked really tired or jaded or just plain old apathetic.
Of course it's way too early in the season to be speculating about anything. There's plenty of time for Liverpool to find their form, and tonight is just one measure of whether they have what it takes.
On another note, I watched West Brom v. Hull last night, and was really impressed with what I saw from both times, but especially Hull. Whereas the upper-tier teams tend to play a lot of long ball and like to slow the play down by passing it around the back, both West Brom and Hull played more of a pass and move game, with lots of pressure on both ends and a lot of quick, one and two-touch passing. It was really fun to watch, and a really open game, and though it was clear there was a little bit of a lack of finesse on the final cross/finishing, Hull still managed three goals out of the deal, and well taken ones at that. I also liked that the players weren't going down as often as players in the top 4. Obviously there was some tumbling and playacting, but much less so than when Manchester U played Liverpool, and I wonder if it has anything to do with these teams having just been promoted from the Championship and being more used to rough and tumble play and no protection from the refs.
In any event, credit to Hull, they're currently tied on points with Liverpool and Chelsea, third in goal difference. I think it'd be pretty cool if they manage to make a big splash by finishing in the upper half of the table this season, cooler still if they broke top 4 (only not at the expense of Liverpool please, thank you).
So. Fingers crossed for a good game tonight and a Liverpool win to move to the top of the table.
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