Chelsea have an opportunity to truly turn a corner under Graham Potter when they face Liverpool in Jurgen Klopp's 1,000th game as a manager.
Just four months into the job, Potter had to fend off questions regarding his future on the back of a run of one win in eight matches, six of those ending in defeat.
Last weekend's slender 1-0 win over Crystal Palace has brought the "buzz" back to Chelsea, in the view of Potter, but another loss at Anfield on Saturday could change all that.
Tenth-place Chelsea are not the only Premier League giant to have struggled this term, with opponents Liverpool level on points in ninth, albeit having played a game less.
Indeed, this weekend's meeting will mark the first time since the 2015-16 campaign that both sides have been outside the top six at this stage of a season.
Stats Perform has picked out the standout Opta numbers to preview the big game, with both clubs needing to put a strong run together to have any change of securing a top-four finish.
Poor form laid bare
Chelsea have won just two of their past 10 Premier League matches, collecting nine points from a possible 30 in that period.
Both of those victories – against Bournemouth late last month before seeing off Palace – have been on home soil, with the Blues winless in five away top-flight matches since mid-October.
Liverpool's form has been equally as patchy, having lost back-to-back league games in 2023 against Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion, the two sides directly above them.
They picked up their first win of the year in all competitions at the fourth attempt against Wolves in the FA Cup on Tuesday to lift the gloom.
Not since 1953 have the Reds started a year with three straight league losses.
Draws galore
Both teams are therefore in need of a victory if they are to make up any ground on the top four, though this fixture has often ended all square in recent times.
The two league games last season were drawn – 1-1 at Anfield in August and 2-2 at Stamford Bridge five months later, with Chelsea recovering from two goals down in the latter.
Then came the EFL and FA Cup finals contested in the space of three months that defined both sides' seasons; each ending goalless before Liverpool prevailed on penalties.
Never before have Liverpool and Chelsea drawn three consecutive league games, though, so that streak looks set to end this weekend.
No home comforts
Preceding that run of draws, Chelsea won 1-0 at Anfield in March 2021 – Mason Mont scoring the only goal – to continue an interesting sequence in this fixture.
The home team has won just three of the past 17 league games between Liverpool and Chelsea – and none in the Reds' case since July 2020 on the day they lifted the title.
Due to the high number of draws, though, Liverpool have lost only two of their past 15 top-flight games with Chelsea at Anfield, winning six and having to settle for a point seven times in that sequence.
Mudryk to make his mark?
One of the big factors behind Liverpool's drop-off this season has been their struggles at the back, having conceded 25 goals in 18 games – compared to 26 in 38 last season.
Should they concede against Chelsea, it will be the first time since between May and October 2016 they have gone nine successive Premier League games without a clean sheet.
Not since December 1953 have they shipped three-or-more goals in three straight top-flight matches, meanwhile, which they are risk of doing on Saturday.
But that seems highly unlikely on the face of it as Chelsea have only scored more than twice in a league game once this season, coming in October's 3-0 win at Wolves.
Mykhailo Mudryk's arrival has bolstered Chelsea's attack, and he is out to become the first Ukrainian to score on their Premier League debut.
Dean Smith is hoping Charlotte FC can replicate their aggressive approach from game 2 when they travel to Orlando City in their MLS playoff decider.
Charlotte forced a third match in their best-of-three series against Orlando, winning 3-1 on penalties after a 0-0 draw on Thursday.
However, they lost the first game 2-0 when they travelled to Inter & Co Stadium and have not had much luck on the road against the Lions, failing to win there since March 2023.
Smith was proud of how his side took the game to Orlando on home soil and is urging his players for more of the same when they return to Florida.
"There's still a job to be done. We think we can go to Orlando and put in a performance that will put us through to the Conference semi-finals," Smith said.
"We have to take our intensity in. That's what gave us that performance, our aggressiveness.
"We forced them into mistakes, and we restricted them to almost no chances, so we were doing something right. We need to make sure we're on the front foot again and take it to them."
Meanwhile, Orlando are hoping their home advantage will provide a much-needed boost as they look to put that shoot-out defeat behind them.
They only managed one shot on target in that match and then netted just one of the four penalties that they took, but Oscar Pareja is confident they are in a strong position to go through.
"We're good. We're aiming for the same intensity, the same intentions, the same plans and the same positive essence that we have.
"When things get tight you've got to use the advantage, and we have that by being at home. We're going to be faithful to the tactics that have got us to this point.
"We have to be confident and be ourselves. Have full belief in what to do. We have a team that plays very well and one that has earned this ride, so we plan to use our advantages."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Orlando City – Duncan McGuire
Orlando attempted just three shots in their game 2 draw and penalty shoot-out defeat to Charlotte, their fewest in any MLS match this season, while hitting just one on target.
Duncan McGuire was responsible for one of those, generating 0.25 expected goals with that effort. The substitute also had the most touches in the box (three) of any Orlando player.
Charlotte FC – Kristijan Kahlina
Charlotte have won both of their penalty shootouts, beating Orlando City 4-1 on Friday after recording a 3-1 shootout win in the 2023 Leagues Cup group stage.
Charlotte have converted all seven of their penalties in shootouts while Kristijan Kahlina allowed goals on just two of the seven spot-kicks he faced.
MATCH PREDICTION: ORLANDO CITY WIN
Orlando have won eight of their last 10 home matches against MLS opposition in all competitions (D1 L1), including a 2-0 victory over Charlotte in Game 1 on October 27. The Lions scored multiple goals in all eight wins over that time.
While Charlotte stayed alive with a penalty shoot-out win after a scoreless draw against Orlando in Game 2 on Saturday, the Lions have now kept clean sheets in three straight matches against them after not doing so in any of the first six meetings in all competitions.
Charlotte's only defeat in their last seven matches in all competitions was their Game 1 loss at Orlando on October 27. In fact, Charlotte’s last loss prior to this run of seven games (W4 D2 L1) also came in Orlando (on September 18), with the omens not looking good going into their final match.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Orlando City – 53.7%
Draw – 23.7%
Charlotte FC – 22.5%
Napoli not going to San Siro to 'wave the white flag', says Conte
Antonio Conte has no intention of holding anything back when he returns to San Siro, as the top two face off in Serie A on Sunday.
The Italian revived Inter and helped them break Juventus's nine-year stranglehold on the Scudetto, stopping their run in the 2020-21 season to win the title for the first time since their treble-winning campaign in 2009-10.
Now at Napoli, a club that is looking to return to the heights of their 2022-23 title win, Conte's side sit top of Serie A with 25 points after 11 games - a point above Inter ahead of their upcoming clash.
"It's definitely nice to return to where I worked and won. Yes, two happy years," Conte told reporters.
"It was a wonderful experience that I carry within me, like all the past ones that I lived to the fullest."
Napoli's winning run in Serie A came to a grinding halt against Atalanta last weekend when Conte's side were beaten 3-0, and they have a poor recent record against Inter, having won just one of their last 10 Serie A matches against them.
Napoli are looking to avoid suffering two consecutive top-flight losses for the first time since last December, and Conte says he is in no mood to drop three points again.
"The three points is always important, it is inevitable that we face a team that today, for everything they have shown, is the strongest team," Conte added.
"We are not going to San Siro to wave the white flag before starting, but convinced to play our cards. Then we will see what happens. We are preparing in a major way, as we always do.
"It will be an important test, we will measure ourselves against the best, and it will be important to understand our progress. Do not forget that we arrive at the top of the table... and the objective is to remain at the top."
Napoli striker Romelu Lukaku has scored only one goal in his last four games, but when asked about his form, Conte said he was tired of questions about the Belgian striker.
"At every blessed conference, there is always the question about Lukaku. It becomes a bit - not annoying - but we are talking about the team. Lukaku's growth depends on the growth of the team," Conte said.
"But I am confident because I see them every day, they want to work and improve. I see a lot of commitment and I would not reduce it to a single player. It is not fair to the others."
Cleverley: Watford 'deserved to win' after improved second half
Tom Cleverley believes Watford "deserved the three points" after an improved second-half display saw them beat Oxford United 1-0.
Vakoun Bayo scored the only goal of the match in the 54th minute after he turned in the rebound of his own saved shot.
It is the fifth goal he has scored in three games, having also netted four times in the Hornets' 6-2 victory over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.
The hosts registered 12 shots, seven of which were on target, as they upped the pressure after the break. They only had four attempts in the first half, though Ciaron Brown had to clear an in-swinging Watford corner off his own goal line on the stroke of half-time.
The three points lift Watford up to fourth in the Championship table ahead of the rest of the weekend's fixtures, and Cleverley was pleased with the marked improvement he saw in the second 45 minutes.
"I thought the second-half performance was really good until the last five minutes really," he told Sky Sports.
"I thought we didn't manage the game as well as we could do and a few refereeing decisions - dubious one that went against us - meant they could get the ball in our box.
"So, it felt a bit hands to the pump at the end, but I thought for the first 35 minutes of the second half, we were absolutely fantastic and were unlucky not to make it two, three.
"Understandably flat performance in the first half, probably from both teams with it being such a demanding week.
"But I thought our second-half performance in the main deserved the three points and our supporters helped us through."
Meanwhile, Oxford remain 16th and have now won just one of their last 10 matches in the Championship.
They failed to register a single shot on target in the first half, and are yet to win a game when conceding the opening goal in the league this season, with this the fifth such match they have gone behind.
It was Oxford's sixth defeat of the season and while manager Des Buckingham said there were positives to take, he was left frustrated by their lack of a clinical edge.
"I'm extremely proud but extremely frustrated," he said.
"I'm disappointed we haven't come away with something. I felt we created enough, we just haven't taken them. If we keep playing that way, we will be fine.
"We speak about being a together group. We did well, but Watford took their chance."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
