BBC pundit Danny Murphy believes that Premier League champions Chelsea need to emulate Tottenham’s performance to get a positive result against Liverpool this weekend.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side strolled to a comfortable 4-1 victory over the Merseyside club at Wembley Stadium last month.
The Blues have failed to beat Liverpool in the Premier League since the 2014-15 campaign when Jose Mourinho masterminded a 2-1 win at Anfield.
Chelsea will have the chance to close the gap on table toppers Manchester City with a win and extend their advantage over Liverpool to six points.
Antonio Conte’s side should be full of confidence going into this weekend’s fixture after securing their place in the Champions League knockout stages after a 4-0 win over Qarabag in midweek.
Writing in his column in the Evening Standard, BBC regular Murphy is convinced that Chelsea need to emulate their bitter rivals Spurs to come away from Merseyside with a satisfactory result.
“The best way to hurt Liverpool is to go after them and expose their vulnerabilities – like Tottenham did against them at Wembley,” he wrote.
“I am not sure Antonio Conte will do that, because that is not normally his way, but the Chelsea manager may be thinking differently after what happened to Jurgen Klopp’s men against Sevilla on Tuesday.
“Some people have written off Chelsea, which is a bit premature, and this is a chance for them to put down a marker.
“On any given day, like they did against West Brom, Chelsea can blow you away, because Eden Hazard is one of the best players in the Premier League.”
OPINION
Although Chelsea supporters will be far from happy that Murphy wants them to play a similar style of football to bitter rivals Spurs, the pundit has make a good point. Tottenham produced a sensational display against the Reds last month as they pressed high and exposed Liverpool’s defensive frailties. Whether Conte is willing to take a risk and attack away from home is yet to be seen as Chelsea have also suffered at the back against top attacking talent this season. Both teams cannot afford to lose this match in the race for the top spots but with the home advantage, Liverpool will need to the team on the front foot on Saturday.