Two teams who are flying high so far this season go head-to-head in this weekend's big Premier League game.
League leaders Liverpool welcome in-form Chelsea to Anfield for a mouthwatering encounter.
The Reds have been in excellent form under new boss Arne Slot, who is the first Liverpool manager to win as many as nine of his first 10 games in charge of the club.
However, Opta's power ranking system suggests that Liverpool have actually had the easiest start of any Premier League team.
Chelsea, who have won four of their last six league outings after losing to Manchester City in their opening match, are sure to present an altogether tougher test.
Here, we delve into the data.
What's expected?
Having lost three consecutive league games against Chelsea between 2013 and 2014, Liverpool have now lost just two of their last 19 against the Blues (W7 D10).
Indeed, Liverpool are unbeaten in their last six Premier League meetings with Chelsea, though five of these have ended level (W1).
With a recent record that strong, it's hardly surprising that the Reds are made the favourites by Opta's supercomputer.
The model gives Liverpool a 59.4% chance of taking the three points, while Chelsea came out on top in 19.4% of its simulations. The likelihood of a draw is 21.2%.
Chelsea have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games against Liverpool (D5 L3), and they went down 4-1 in the corresponding fixture last season.
That big win for the Reds came less than a month before the EFL Cup final, which a depleted Liverpool won 1-0 thanks to Virgil van Dijk's header deep into stoppage time, with Chelsea – then of course overseen by Mauricio Pochettino – passed up four big chances, defined by Opta as an opportunity from which a team would reasonably be expected to score.
But under Enzo Maresca, who is freshly minted as Premier League Manager of the Month for September, Chelsea have been more clinical. Only Man City (17) have scored more goals than the Blues (16), who have also outperformed their 14.7 expected goals (xG), so they will be hoping to capitalise on any big opportunities that come their way on Sunday.
Getting past Liverpool's defence, though, is another matter.
Solid foundations
Replacing a club legend like Jurgen Klopp was not going to be easy, though Slot is making a good fist of making it look simple so far.
The former Feyenoord coach has reduced the chaos and brought slightly more control to Liverpool's play, and for the most part, this has worked a treat, bar in that shock 1-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest in September.
Liverpool have still registered the third-highest xG in the league over the first seven games (14.0), behind Chelsea and Tottenham, but Slot has looked to build on a strong base.
Slot's team have conceded the fewest goals (two), kept the most clean sheets (five), and have the lowest expected goals against (xGA) figure (5.2) of any side in the Premier League this season.
In the 266 minutes Liverpool’s Premier League games have been level on the scoreline this season, the Reds have faced just 16 shots, an average of 5.4 per 90. This is both the lowest total faced and per 90 faced when drawing of any side in the competition this term.
They have ridden their luck at times, though. They were shaky and perhaps fortunate that Virgil van Dijk did not give away a penalty for pulling on Marc Guehi's shirt in the 1-0 win at Crystal Palace prior to the international break.
That victory came at a cost, too, with goalkeeper Alisson sustaining a hamstring injury that will keep him out until after the November international break.
In Caoimhin Kelleher, Liverpool have a fantastic number two (and one that wishes to move on), though. The Republic of Ireland international has always stood up to be counted when required, and since the start of last season, has recorded an impressive goals-prevented figure of 2.9, having conceded 10 goals (excluding own goals and penalties) from an expected goals on target (xGoT) against of 12.9.
Kelleher also played against Chelsea in the EFL Cup final in February, so he has good recent form against them.
Top travellers
Chelsea are no pushovers on the road, though, so do not expect a repeat of last season's 4-1 drubbing.
In fact, these two teams are the only ones with a 100% away win rate in the Premier League this season (three wins out of three).
Only in 2005-06 (four) and 2008-09 (eight) have Chelsea ever won their opening four away matches of a league season.
Maresca, meanwhile, is looking to become only the fifth boss to win each of his first four away Premier League games, with one of the previous four to do so being Slot (also Bobby Gould, John Gregory, and Luiz Felipe Scolari).
Chelsea will want to get on the ball, but they may be best served being patient and waiting for their moments to pounce on the break.
Key to that tactic would be Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke, who have created 15 chances for each other in the Premier League this season, the most of any duo.
Indeed, Palmer's four assists for Madueke is also the most from one player for a team-mate so far this term. Though in Nicolas Jackson and the likes of Joao Felix, Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho, Chelsea have plenty of attackers who can test that mean Liverpool defence.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Liverpool - Mohamed Salah
Salah has accumulated 4.1 xG in the league this season, which is the highest of any player in Liverpool’s squad. With 231 goal contributions for Liverpool (159 goals, 72 assists), he ranks sixth on the all-time list for Premier League goal contributions for a single side.
The Egypt star has scored four goals in 13 Premier League games against former side Chelsea, averaging a goal every 257 minutes against the Blues. Among opponents he has played 10+ times in the competition, only against Burnley (778) does he have a poorer minutes per goal rate.
Chelsea - Cole Palmer
Palmer has directly contributed to more Premier League goals (44 – 28 goals, 16 assists) than any other player in the top flight since the start of last season.
The 22-year-old was named Premier League Player of the Month for September. He has won two of the last three Player of the Month awards, with only Frank Lampard (four) winning more for the Blues than Palmer (two).
Amorim told Europa League qualification is 'mandatory' in first Man Utd season
Ruben Amorim must at least guide Manchester United back into the Europa League in his first season as the club's manager.
That is the view of ex-Manchester City defender Danny Mills, whose former side were beaten 4-1 by Amorim and Sporting CP in the Champions League earlier this month.
Amorim has been hired by Man Utd to replace Erik ten Hag after the Dutchman was sacked midway through his third season in charge at Old Trafford.
Having taken charge of his final games in Lisbon, a spell which included that famous continental win over Man City, Amorim started his work at United during the international break.
His first game at the helm comes this Sunday away at Ipswich Town and while Mills acknowledges the task of rebuilding United's team is a long-term project, he feels there is still a certain level of results Amorim needs to hit in the 2024-25 season.
"Amorim needs to figure out which players fit his mould and buy into his project," former England international Mills said to Stats Perform.
"That will take six months or so. Then he will need to move some players out and bring new ones in.
"This season, though, they still need success. European football – Europa League – is probably mandatory. They must avoid the Conference League.
"Without being disrespectful, third-tier European football isn’t good enough for Manchester United, so it has to be the Europa League or Champions League.
"The Europa League is very achievable and not making it would be a huge disappointment.
"There are still good players at the club and they have still got to aim for the Champions League, but [getting into the top four] will take good coaching, a big turnaround, and maybe a bit of luck."
Amorim is the seventh different manager to take charge of the club since Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013.
The 39-year-old won three Portuguese league titles with Benfica as a player while he left Sporting as head coach after guiding them to two league titles and two Taca da Liga trophies.
Sporting also started this season by winning all 11 league games under Amorim before his departure.
"The appointment of Ruben Amorim is a good one," added Mills. "You have to look at the people involved [in the appointment] as well.
"Dan Ashworth hasn’t made too many wrong decisions as a sporting or technical director. Throughout his career, at West Brom, England, Brighton, and Newcastle, his recruitment has been very good.
"Jason Wilcox, who sits under him, did incredibly well at Manchester City. He identified many young players who, if they didn’t become stars at City, went on to become stars elsewhere.
"Recruitment will be handled well in terms of managers, coaches, and players, but that takes time and it’s going to take at least two or three transfer windows.
"I like that Amorim came in and said, ‘Right, that’s it. A new start’. He has moved away from the Ferguson era that people keep harping on about.
"Ten-plus years ago, we knew how good Manchester United were, but football moves on. Liverpool went through a similar phase after their success in the 1980s."
Amorim takes over at United with the club 13th in the Premier League with 15 points from 11 matches and having collected just one win from four matches in the Europa League.
Mills believes there is plenty for United fans to like about the new boss' approach on and off the pitch.
"Football has evolved faster in the last 10 years than ever before and Amorim deals with the press well," he said.
"When Sporting beat Manchester City, he admitted they played well but got a bit lucky. People appreciate that honesty.
"Fans and pundits are more knowledgeable now than ever before, thanks to the amount of football they consume and the opinions they hear, especially on social media."
After facing Ipswich, Amorim's first two home games will see Man Utd take on Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League and Everton in the Premier League.
He will then take the Red Devils to the Emirates Stadium for a huge clash against Arsenal on 4 December.
United reached this season's Europa League by winning the FA Cup under Ten Hag and they have that potential path again this season, while they are also still in the EFL Cup, a competition in which they will play Tottenham in the quarter-finals.
Winning the Europa League itself, meanwhile, would mean qualification to the Champions League.
But while there are multiple routes open to Amorim in his bid to secure a continental spot, the Opta supercomputer does not like his chances of doing that through United's league placing.
After their poor start to the season, United have just a 13.2% chance of finishing in the top six, and a 33.1% shot at reaching the top eight.
As things stand, they are most likely to finish between ninth and 11th, meaning they are on track for their worst-ever Premier League finish unless Amorim can lead a rapid revival.
Slot deserves praise for modest approach to Liverpool job – Mills
Arne Slot deserves praise for not being "arrogant" with his approach to succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss, according to Danny Mills.
The Dutchman has made a hugely positive start to life at Anfield since replacing long-serving Klopp ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The 28 points Slot has collected is the joint-most of any manager in their opening 11 Premier League games along with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea.
Liverpool's only blemish on an otherwise perfect start to the top-flight campaign was a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in September.
Indeed, only in 2019-20 (31 points) have Liverpool collected more points after 11 games of a Premier League season than their 28 this campaign.
Former Leeds United and Manchester City defender Mills has been particularly impressed by Slot's approach to a new era at Anfield.
"Arne Slot has surprised me," Mills told Stats Perform. "They did have a difficult defeat against Nottingham Forest at home. That was a defeat not many people saw that coming, but the start he's had is unbelievable. It's incredible.
"Training might be slightly different, but the style of play is very similar. The players are comfortable with it. They've been high-energy, closing people down, and playing at 100 miles an hour when they win the ball back.
"It shows managerial intelligence to understand the players' qualities and build on what they had when they were successful. He hasn't overthought it or tinkered too much.
"He hasn’t been arrogant and said, 'I'm going to rip it up and start fresh'. It wasn't broken; it was already successful. He's just added to it."
Liverpool won a first ever Premier League title during Klopp's eight-and-a-half years in charge, as well the Champions League in 2018-19.
Klopp also lifted the FA Cup, two EFL Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, setting a high benchmark to follow.
"Liverpool identified the man they wanted, brought him in, and he's been very clever," Mills added. "He looked at the squad and thought, 'these are good players. I don't need to change too much'.
"That's smart because Liverpool were very successful under Klopp. If you come in and rip up the playbook and it doesn't work, players will question why they're not doing what worked under Klopp."
Liverpool have conceded just six goals in the Premier League this season – four fewer than next-best Nottingham Forest.
They are conceding at a rate of around 0.5 goals per game, compared to around 1.1 in Klopp's final season in charge (41 goals in 38 matches).
"Slot has tweaked things slightly, maybe made them more defensively solid, which they needed to really challenge," Mills said. "Championship-winning or Champions League-winning teams are built on solid defences.
"You don't win without that. He's shored up the defence and allowed the players to continue doing what they were doing before."
Rodri: Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt
Manchester City and Spain star Rodri has suggested that Lionel Messi pipped Cristiano Ronaldo as the greatest footballer of all time.
The 28-year-old was recently awarded the 2024 Ballon d'Or as recognition for a period in which he won the Champions League in 2023 and Euro 2024 with Spain the next year.
Ex-Barcelona man Messi has won three of the last four Ballon d'Ors prior to Rodri, with the midfielder claiming that the latter is the greatest "without any doubt" during an interview on Spanish TV.
"Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt. Cristiano has managed to match Messi without innate talent. But those of us who have played against them can see the difference," said Rodri, speaking to El Hormiguero.
"We didn’t want Cristiano to step into the box because he was lethal there. But with Messi, the danger was everywhere on the pitch."
Ronaldo has scored a total of 928 goals in his career for club and country, winning 34 major trophies including five Champions League titles. He has also won the Ballon d'Or on five occasions.
Messi, meanwhile, has scored 877 goals, won the Champions League on four occasions and the Ballon d'Or five times, most recently in 2023.
Messi is now at Inter Miami, while Rodri is recovering from an ACL injury at Manchester City, although the two faced each other in LaLiga during the midfielder's spells at Villarreal and Atletico Madrid before his Premier League move.
"When Messi got the ball, you’d think: 'Oh, danger'," he added. "When I first started playing against him, I tried to take the ball from him, and he dodged you as if you were a bull in the ring. The feeling I had was that something bad was about to happen."
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