Liverpool's Biggest Obstacles in Stopping Chelsea in the Premier League

Liverpool take on Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday and Brendan Rodgers’ side have several obstacles of their own and their opponents to overcome if they want to stop the current Premier League leaders.

After finishing two points above Chelsea last season, Liverpool’s inconsistent start to this campaign has left them in seventh position, trailing by 12 points after just 10 games.

Last season, Chelsea inflicted a terminal blow to Liverpool’s bid to become champions for the first time since 1990 with a 2-0 win at Anfield in the 36th game of the season.

And forgetting the painful memories of that experience is one of the obstacles facing Liverpool and, in particular, captain Steven Gerrard.

The midfielder’s slip near the halfway line allowed Demba Ba to capitalise and give Chelsea the lead back in April. Luis Suarez has written in his autobiography that "If I had been in Stevie's shoes, I don't know if I would have been able to carry on playing."

Gerrard, who was wanted by Jose Mourinho during the Portuguese’s first spell as Chelsea manager, should at least be fresh for the game.

The 34-year-old was one of seven players who started last weekend’s Premier League defeat at Newcastle to be left out of the team which lost 1-0 away to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Rodgers suggested Gerrard was rested against Real to ensure he is fresh for the visit of Chelsea and the Liverpool manager must decide how many more changes to make to his team.

After each of Liverpool’s three previous Champions League games this season, Rodgers has made three changes to his starting line-up for the subsequent Premier League fixture, which have brought a win, a defeat and a draw.

Indeed, according to Opta statistics, Liverpool’s ratio of winning just 52 percent of their domestic games directly after a Champions League match is the worst of any Premier League club to have played in the Champions League for three or more seasons.

Finding a way to score goals at Anfield is another obstacle for Liverpool to overcome, with only Aston Villa and Burnley having scored fewer than the Reds’ five at home in the league this season.

Liverpool have also failed to score in four of their last five games in all competitions, with Mario Balotelli yet to score in eight league games since joining from AC Milan.

Rickie Lambert has also failed to score in eight league appearances, albeit starting only once, since his move from Southampton, but Saturday could be the England international’s time to shine.

Lambert scored in both of Southampton’s games against Chelsea in the 2012/13 season—a home win and an away draw—and only featured as a substitute in last season’s games against the Blues.

With former Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge still injured, Lambert’s combination of physical presence, experience and guile could be a viable alternative to Balotelli.

In addition to solving their own issues, Liverpool must also find a way to stop Chelsea, who have the best attacking record away from home this season.

In his pre-match press conference, Rodgers described Chelsea as the "strongest team at the moment in the league" and one which has added Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas to the side since last season’s meeting between the two clubs.

Rodgers said, when asked about Chelsea’s threats: “They were strong last year. They've got players with great experience both domestically and in Europe, which helps them massively.  

Jon Super/Associated Press

"Add to that the players that have come in, in Costa you have one of the top strikers in the game. And Fabregas is such a creative force while [Eden] Hazard is one of the best young players in the world at the moment."

Costa has scored nine goals in eight league appearances since his move from Atletico Madrid and Fabregas, meanwhile, leads the assists table with nine since his return to English football.

Manchester United recently found a way to stop the Spaniard when Marouane Fellaini was given the job of keeping close to Fabregas in the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford a fortnight ago—a game Costa missed.

Rodgers must find someone in his squad to perform a similar function on Saturday. Could Jordan Henderson be the man to sit tight on Fabregas before offering an attacking outlet when his team’s in possession?

Rodgers has shown in the past that he can be creative in his thinking, such as his successful use of a diamond formation, and he may need to be similarly ingenious on Saturday.

Liverpool did not go three games without a league win at any stage last season, but that is the prospect facing them this weekend if Rodgers is unable to find a way to stop Chelsea.