Chelsea v Liverpool - Suarez’s Racism Charge could Work in His Favour

Liverpool will make a trip to West London this Sunday to face Chelsea in a match which has firepower and fascination written all over it.

The two teams face each other at a time when they are struggling to find a form good enough to rival the two Manchester clubs, especially Manchester City who have opened a five-point lead at the apex of the premier league.

The match will not only see two former KOP idols, Fernando Torres and Raul Meireles (both now seen as traitors) face their former employers but a player from each camp, John Terry and Luis Suarez, are both facing charges of racism with the latter having been charged by the Football Association while the former’s case is still under investigation.

The ruling has raised a huge hue and cry from the Red side of the Merseyside and the club was fast to release a statement reiterating that it will “remain fully supportive of Luis in this matter."

The adroit Uruguayan clashed with Manchester United’s Patrice Evra during the teams’ 1-1 draw at Anfield on October 15 and has been denying allegations since the French international made the claims immediately after the match.

Against Chelsea, the FA charge could work either in favour or against the former Ajax man.

It could provide a major distraction for the talented Nacional youth product in a match that would need total concentration from all the players lest another goal fest be witnessed at Stamford Bridge in the second successive match after the 5-3 loss to Arsenal a fortnight ago. El Pistolero may also feel frustrated by the whole decision and don’t we all know what he is capable of doing when you get into his nerves?

On the other hand, the 24-year-old could go into the match with a lot of fire in his belly and vent all his anger, if any, on Petr Cech and his back four. He scored four goals for Uruguay against Chile in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers on Friday and should he carry those scoring boots to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Chelsea could be in for a long weekend.

Liverpool completed a league double over Andre Villas Boas’ men last season and are unbeaten in their last six league matches but three of the last four have ended in draws. Raul Meireles scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against his current team at Stamford Bridge last season, while Fernando Torres scored a brace in a 2-0 win at Anfield before he controversially engineered his British-record transfer to the Bridge.

The goals have not quite been coming for King Kenny’s men who have hit the back of the net only 14 times in 11 matches but they also have that undesirable record of having hit the post the most times in the league. However, their defence has been resolute conceding only 10 goals in 11 Premier League fixtures, the second lowest in the league.

Chelsea on the other hand have kept only two clean sheets since the league began, the most recent coming against Blackburn in a 1-0 win. They have won only two of their last five games but their form at home has been imperious as they (before the Arsenal match) had scored an impressive 13 goals, and conceded 4.

A win for Liverpool will level them on points with the Blues and add some bite into their aim to finish in the top four. It will also give them confidence ahead of their encounter with runaway league leaders Manchester City on November 27, before a Carling Cup matchup against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge little over 48hours later.

A loss for either team will see them fall further off the top and extinguish their Premier League title ambitions even before Christmas.

Keep your eye on Luis Suarez.

Form Guide:

Chelsea (WDLWL):
5th November, 2011: Blackburn 0-1 Chelsea
1st November, 2011: Genk 1-1 Chelsea (Champions League)
29th October, 2011: Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal
26th October, 2011: Everton 1-2 Chelsea(Carling Cup)
23rd October, 2011: QPR 1-0 Chelsea

Liverpool (DWWDD):
5th November, 2011: Liverpool 0-0 Swansea
29th October, 2011: West Brom 0-2 Liverpool
26th October, 2011: Stoke City 1-2 Liverpool (Carling Cup)
22nd October, 2011: Liverpool 1-1 Norwich
15th October, 2011: Liverpool 1-1 Manchester United

My Prediction – Chelsea 1-3 Liverpool

And That's thesteifmastertake!!