Picking a Combined Liverpool vs. Chelsea XI
At the turn of the year, Chelsea's visit to Anfield at the end of January looked set to be one of the defining fixtures in the race for the Premier League title.
After defeating Manchester City 1-0 on New Year's Eve, Liverpool finished 2016 six points behind the table-topping Blues but with the knowledge that Antonio Conte's side still had to travel to Merseyside.
While it is said that a week is a long time in politics, a month can prove to be a long, long time in football.
The start of 2017 has not gone to plan for Jurgen Klopp's squad. They have managed just one win this month, with that solitary triumph coming in an FA Cup replay at League Two side Plymouth Argyle.
They were once Chelsea's nearest challengers but now sit 10 points back in fourth place. They can still just about see top spot, yet they should be more concerned with the Manchester clubs right behind them.
The Blues, in contrast, have had no such troubles in 2017. They are still perched nicely at the summit, holding an eight-point lead over second-placed Arsenal, who they host on Saturday.
Ahead of Tuesday's battle between the Reds and the Blues, Bleacher Report has picked a combined XI.
With Chelsea's status as top dogs, this side lines up in their preferred 3-4-1-2 formation. However, in an act of fairness to Liverpool, we've also chosen a 4-3-3 lineup on the final slide.
Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois
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Considering Liverpool have played goalkeeper tennis this season—rallying back and forth between Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius—Thibaut Courtois is the only choice here.
However, to suggest the Belgium international gets in by default is to do his performances this season a huge disservice.
Courtois has kept 13 clean sheets in 22 Premier League games to date. Sure, the Blues' defence has been miserly, but he has produced the goods when called upon.
If one particular save sticks in the memory, it is his stunning reflex stop at Sunderland on December 14. Patrick van Aanholt's late strike from the edge of the box seemed destined for the net, only for Courtois to leap to his right and claw the ball away, preserving his side's 1-0 lead at the death.
Central Defender: Cesar Azpilicueta
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How good has Cesar Azpilicueta been at centre-half for Chelsea? Good enough for Frank Lampard to name the Spaniard as the best of the bunch so far.
"He's been brilliant. Costa and Hazard get the limelight, but he's basically a right-back and a centre-half. He is tailor-made for that role. He's probably been player of the season," he told Jamie Carragher in an interview for the Daily Mail.
Who are we to disagree with a Chelsea legend?
Having started the season at left-back, Azpilicueta—who signed a new long-term contract with the Blues in December—has made a smooth transition into a key cog in a three-man defence.
Central Defender: David Luiz
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OK, Antonio Conte, who is this David Luiz, and what have you done with the original?
Eyebrows were raised when Chelsea splashed out £29.75 million to bring the defender back from Paris Saint-Germain before the closure of the summer transfer window last August.
The Brazil international started his second spell with back-to-back defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal, and it was questioned how Conte—known for building from solid foundations—would mesh with a ball-playing defender like Luiz.
Turns out the odd couple get along just fine, with Luiz becoming a bedrock in the centre of Conte's preferred system.
"He [Conte] is one of the best coaches I've ever worked with. He knows very well the characteristics of each player, and we follow exactly what he guides us to do on the pitch," Luiz told ESPN Brazil (h/t Matt Law of the Telegraph).
Central Defender: Gary Cahill
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Gary Cahill takes up the final centre-back berth.
The England international has scored three Premier League goals this season, including finding the net in his side's 4-0 thrashing of former boss Jose Mourinho's Manchester United last October.
Perhaps the more impressive stat, however, is that Cahill—who captains the side in the absence of John Terry—has only been booked twice in 22 league games.
While playing in a three-man back line isn't ideal for a 31-year-old not known for his pace, Cahill has adapted to the situation.
Apologies to Dejan Lovren (still yet to convince anyone he's a top-tier defender) and Joel Matip (missed too many games due to injury), as neither of Liverpool's leading centre-backs made the XI.
Right Midfield: Victor Moses
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Conte's arrival at Stamford Bridge may have saved Victor Moses' Chelsea career. At the very least he's given the player renewed life, turning him from a peripheral figure to a first-choice selection.
The Nigeria international had played plenty of games in the Premier League in the previous three seasons—during loan spells at Liverpool, Stoke City and West Ham United.
After Conte often used him as a substitute at the start of 2016/17 campaign, Moses' big break came with the switch to three at the back—against Hull City in October.
He's been a regular down Chelsea's right-hand side ever since, contributing three goals and two assists.
"I've never dreamed of playing in this position in my life, but I'm enjoying it, and I think it's probably one of the best positions, to be honest. The more games I'm playing there, the more I'm improving," Moses said, per Stuart Ballard of the Daily Express.
Nathaniel Clyne was the other option considered to play here. While better defensively than his rival for the role, he doesn't offer the same level of quality in the final third.
Centre Midfield: N'Golo Kante
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A Premier League champion with surprise package Leicester City last year, N'Golo Kante is on course to repeat the trick in his debut season with Chelsea.
The Frenchman was outstanding for the Foxes, but he is now just as pivotal to the Blues, too. He works tirelessly for the team's cause—so tirelessly, in fact, that even the Energizer Bunny would struggle to keep up.
But it's not just about the amount of ground he covers (and we've all heard the one about 70 per cent of the Earth being covered by water, with the rest by N'Golo Kante).
Per WhoScored.com, Kante has an 88.5 per cent pass-completion rate in the Premier League. He also averages three tackles a game, plus 2.5 interceptions.
He even popped up with a rare goal against Manchester United, leading to Conte branding him the "complete midfielder," per Nick Ames of the Observer.
Centre Midfield: Jordan Henderson
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There were two candidates to sit next to Kante in the combined XI: Jordan Henderson and Nemanja Matic.
It would be easy to continue the Blue theme running through the team and select the ever-reliable Serbia international to play alongside his club colleague.
However, Liverpool's skipper gets the nod. It was a close call, but the deciding factor came down to a comparison of their average ratings on WhoScored.com; Henderson (7.38), therefore, is ahead of Matic (7.18).
The former was influential for the Reds as the deep-lying midfielder, including scoring a stunner in their 2-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last October, before picking up a heel injury.
While struggling for form since making his comeback, the England international still holds a healthy lead at the top of the passing charts (1,824) in the Premier League this season.
Left Midfield: Marcos Alonso
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Like team-mate Victor Moses, Marcos Alonso has prospered following Chelsea's switch to three at the back.
Positioned on the left flank, the Spaniard—who started his career at Real Madrid—has provided three goals and two assists for his team.
"It's not so different from how I was used to playing at Fiorentina, so it was easy to adapt when I first came here," Alonso told Chelsea's official website (h/t Sam Long of the Evening Standard).
In hindsight, it's obvious to see why the Blues were willing to fork out £19.55 million last August to sign a player who had hardly pulled up any trees during spells at Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland.
James Milner's transition to left-back from midfield made him an option to consider, but Alonso is naturally left-footed and has an average rating of 7.50 on WhoScored.com.
Attacking Midfield: Eden Hazard
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After a disappointing 2015/16 campaign, both for the player and Chelsea as a whole, Eden Hazard has blossomed again under Conte.
Freed to roam without worrying as much about defensive responsibilities, the Belgian has scored nine times and set up three more goals for his team-mates.
The goals have dried up of late—Hazard has managed two in his last 10 Premier League outings—but he remains a pivotal figure in the Blues' march towards the title.
So why the change this season from the sulking figure we saw so often at Stamford Bridge last year? The equation is a simple one: A happy Hazard = A better Hazard.
"For me, football is like this: I go on the pitch, and I try to enjoy it," he told Chelsea magazine. "I don’t look at statistics; I don’t look at goals; I just want to go on the pitch."
Attacking Midfield: Philippe Coutinho
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With Hazard slotted into the XI, there was one berth left up for grabs (spoiler alert: Diego Costa is up front).
While other positions were easy to pick, this one saw several contenders come under consideration.
Pedro now looks more like the player we all watched at Barcelona, scoring five goals and providing five assists. He even did an admirable job filling in for Moses on the right in the FA Cup win over Brentford on Saturday.
As for Liverpool's candidates, Sadio Mane has proved to be a sensational signing from Southampton.
He bagged nine goals before departing to represent Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations—and the Reds never looked the same during his absence.
However, Philippe Coutinho pips both Pedro and Mane. The choice was made due to the Brazilian holding the highest average rating on WhoScored.com (Coutinho 7.63, Mane 7.57 and Pedro 7.04).
Coutinho contributed five goals and five assists before sustaining an ankle injury against Sunderland on November 26. Liverpool fans are now desperate for him to reignite their stuttering season.
Centre Forward: Diego Costa
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Had things worked out differently, Diego Costa could have been lining up against Chelsea on Tuesday.
The striker was a transfer target for Liverpool back in 2013. According to Ben Smith of BBC Sport, the Reds made a £21 million offer to Atletico Madrid.
However, Costa stayed in the Spanish capital. He went on to help Atletico win La Liga that next season, joined Chelsea in the summer of 2014 and the rest, as they say, is history.
The 28-year-old had a second-season blip at the Blues last year, but he has been back to his bruising best in the 2016/17 campaign.
Costa has 15 Premier League goals already. Speculation over a move to China has subsided, and his relationship with Conte appears to be patched up—for now.
Chelsea demonstrated they can prosper without Costa when he sat out the 3-0 win over Leicester City on January 14, but they are a far greater threat to opponents when he's leading the line.
Alternative XI: 4-3-3 Formation
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Obviously, picking a combined team in a 3-4-2-1 formation favoured Chelsea. So, to be fair to Liverpool's players, it felt only right to also name an alternative XI in a 4-3-3 system.
That doesn't mean that the Blues' monopoly on the positions immediately ends, though.
Courtois remains the obvious choice in goal. Cahill and Luiz slot in as the central-defensive pairing, while Azpilicueta shifts to his old role of left-back.
Kante, Hazard and Costa still all merit places, too, but the change in shape does at least benefit Liverpool in other areas of the field.
Nathaniel Clyne makes the most sense on the right of a back four, while the extra man in central midfield opens up the possibility of playing Adam Lallana in his best position, as the furthest forward of the trio.
And what about Mane as the right-sided forward? It is a role he thrives in under Jurgen Klopp, while both Coutinho and Hazard predominantly play from the left when lining up in a front three.
4-3-3 formation: Courtois; Clyne, Cahill, Luiz, Azpilicueta; Henderson, Kante, Lallana/Coutinho (take your pick); Mane, Costa, Hazard.
All statistics, positional data and transfer fees used in the slideshow were from Transfermarkt unless otherwise stated.
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