Liverpool look to decelerate Cole Palmer, Chelsea

Liverpool host Chelsea on Sunday in a meeting of first-year Premier League coaches who are off to exceptional starts with their new clubs.

Arne Slot’s Liverpool (6-1-0, 18 points) enter the fixture atop the standings after winning three in a row in league play and six straight in all competitions.

The biggest difference between Slot’s Liverpool side this season and the side that Jurgen Klopp managed last season is a more resolute rear guard.

While Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah are off to excellent starts, combining for nine league goals, it’s on the back line where the Reds have won matches, conceding only four goals across all competitions (10 matches).

Last season, Klopp’s group yielded that many tallies in its first five matches.

“If you want to achieve something, we need to be stable defensively. We have done that so far,” Slot said. “Now we face even better players. Chelsea, like (Manchester) United, have a lot of great players and we have to control that as a team, but we also have to create our own chances, too. Good thing is we have players who can score. An interesting game on Sunday.”

Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea (4-1-2, 14 points) have achieved their early success more by virtue of some exceptional attacking, led by the continued brilliance of Cole Palmer.

The Blues’ 16 league goals are the second most behind only four-time defending league champion Manchester City. Palmer has scored or assisted on an incredible 11 of those as he makes his case for being the EPL’s best all-around attacker.

Yet fourth-place Chelsea have not faced a foe as strong as Liverpool since falling 2-0 to Manchester City in the first match of the season. So there could be some temptation to say Sunday’s result will show how good the Blues really are, an instinct Maresca wants to guard against.

“We’re going to approach the game trying to prepare the game in the best way,” Maresca said. “And as I said, try to get points there. But it’s not this game that is going to define where we are — if we win, we solve all the problems, and in case we lose? No. It’s just a process, it’s just a game.”

Liverpool will be without goalkeeper Alisson due to a hamstring injury.

–Field Level Media