Stamford Bridge will be witness to a big match day when Liverpool travel to face Chelsea, on Saturday, November 19, 2011, in match week 12.
Villas-Boas’ men are coming off a 1-0 win away at Blackburn, on the back of Lampard’s 52nd minute header. It was an unconvincing performance by the Stamford Bridge squad for whom the game was a must-win, after consecutive league defeats, including a 5-3 loss at home to Arsenal. The visitors were colourless in the first half; after a first minute scoring opportunity to Sturridge that was saved by Robinson, the hosts dominated possession.
Chelsea were lucky to see a shot from Yakubu go wide as he reached out to prod a cross from Formica home. Sturridge was the outstanding player for Chelsea, and he came close to winning a penalty, and had another scoring attempt. Rovers almost equalised on 86 minutes when the ball ricocheted off the underside of the bar after Ivanovic’s muffed an attempted clearance off a Pedersen corner.
Liverpool played out a 0-0 stalemate against Swansea, at Anfield, in match week 11. The hosts failed to breach a Swansea defence on a day that will be remembered for Andy Carroll’s missed scoring chance more than anything else. This was Liverpool’s third consecutive home draw that had several other scoring opportunities squandered, including one by Routledge for Swansea, and Liverpool were lucky not to concede and had Reina between the posts to thank for a brilliant one-handed save that kept Routledge’s shot from doing damage.
Head to head, Chelsea and Liverpool have met 18 times, in the Premier League, and Chelsea have won on 9 of those occasions, while Liverpool have won on 7, with the remaining two games drawn. The last time these teams met was in February 2011, at the same venue; Liverpool won that game 1-0.
Currently placed 4th on the league table, the Stamford Bridge squad have hosted 5 home games, this season, winning 4 and losing the remaining one, while Liverpool who are in 6th place have had 3 wins and 2 losses in 5 games on the road.
This one promises to be an intriguing match between two well-matched teams both trying to get some momentum going in their campaign, with Chelsea enjoying an edge on the back of home advantage.
Chelsea’s starting eleven against Blackburn: Cech, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Mikel, Lampard, Mata, sturridge, Malouda.
Liverpool’s starting eleven against Swansea: Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Jose Enrique, Henderson, Lucas, Adam, Downing, Carroll, Suarez.