Liverpool’s treble bid enters a pivotal month in March, beginning with a tricky FA Cup fifth round trip to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
Jurgen Klopp’s side travel to London off the back of a shock 3-0 defeat at Watford on Saturday, while Chelsea also suffered a disappointing result at the weekend as they were held by Bournemouth.
Liverpool’s dreams of an ‘Invincible’ season were not just ended on Saturday, they were shattered in stunning fashion as relegation-threatened Watford stormed to a deserved 3-0 win at Vicarage Road.
It was a result which sent shockwaves around football – the biggest margin of victory for a team in the relegation zone against top of the table since 1985 – and Klopp may hope that it also sends shockwaves throughout his squad.
Liverpool have done an admirable job of avoiding complacency despite the destination of the Premier League title being all-but secured for some time now, but Saturday showed the first signs of it creeping in.
Chelsea’s home record is not exactly formidable either, though, with the Blues having suffered eight defeats at Stamford Bridge this season – their highest tally since 1985-86.
The most recent of those was a particularly chastening 3-0 lesson at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League last week, which was their heaviest ever home European defeat and their biggest in any competition since January 2018.
A visit from the world, European and soon-to-be English champions is arguably the last thing Frank Lampard’s side need, then, although this is perhaps the most vulnerable the Reds have looked all season.
Chelsea are not best-placed to take advantage of that, though, having won just one of their last five games and two of their last eight.
It is a trophy Lampard won four times in the space of six seasons as a player, including victory over Liverpool in the 2012 final, but since he left the Blues they have won it just once more, doing so in 2017-18.
So far this season they have had a fairly straightforward route through to the fifth round with victories over Championship pair Nottingham Forest and Hull City, but Tuesday’s match promises to be their toughest FA Cup test of the campaign. (Sports Mole)
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