Rule one of football management, goes the old saying, is never change a winning team. Bigger squads and habitual rotation - particularly among the big four - have challenged that notion in recent years, but if ever there was a time to re-embrace the principle, shouldn't it be now at Chelsea, following their biggest league win in 47 years with the demolition of Stoke City?
Simply, no. While we must pause to congratulate Carlo Ancelotti on the roaring success of an innovative and brave selection against the Potters, we have to appreciate the markedly different nature of the challenge that awaits the Blues at Anfield, as the coach surely has already.
Stoke arrived at Stamford Bridge with the joint best away defensive record in the Premier League this season, and Ancelotti decided he would take a sledgehammer to this particular nut. Didier Drogba was not rested as many thought he might have been, with his hernia troubling him, but was instead flanked by Salomon Kalou on one side and Nicolas Anelka (his mooted replacement) on the other.
Florent Malouda remained in the team in a deeper role than normal, with Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard also less advanced than they are accustomed to in the absence of John Obi Mikel.
The tactics defined the mood of Chelsea, and the strength of their reaction following the recent setback at Tottenham, a slip which Manchester United fully exploited to take a provisional lead in the table.
In going for the throat from the off, Chelsea showed they had recovered not just verve, but nerve. Anyone who has paid close attention to the sanguine Ancelotti this season already knew that he would not be cowed, as so many challengers have been, by the psychological jousts of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Kalou was the biggest hit of those to come into the team, scoring his first hat-trick in England, bamboozling Robert Huth and coaxing the Chelsea old boy into hauling him down for the penalty which produced the third goal.
The Ivorian had been symbolic of the tension which gripped the previous home performance, the far-too-narrow-for-comfort win over Bolton Wanderers. Starting his first game in a month, Kalou spurned a handful of presentable chances to give his side much-needed breathing space, and was swiftly returned to the sidelines for the Spurs encounter.
Yet interviewed after yesterday's win, Kalou himself accepted that this stellar display would not guarantee him a starting berth against Liverpool, playing down his performance's personal importance and pointing out the need for a contribution from all the squad's elements.
The world knows that the game with Rafa Benitez's men will define the Premier League title's destiny, so Ancelotti is likely to use the performance at Manchester United which turned the race back in his side's favour as his template.
Kalou will more than likely make way, with midfielders Joe Cole and Malouda likely to flank a sole centre forward in a move designed to encourage the side to maintain a disciplined shape and retain the ball as long as possible, rather than adopt the (necessarily) gung-ho approach they took into the Stoke match.
With possession so important Deco is likely to make a return, with his distribution having been a key element of the victory at Old Trafford. The major doubt is in the defensive midfield role. Mikel will again be absent, and Ballack showed little appetite or aptitude for the more physical side of the anchor role, which will surely be crucial against Steven Gerrard, with the Liverpool skipper returning to optimum form. Don't rule out a policing role for the versatile Juliano Belletti or even Branislav Ivanovic, with the Serbian international displaced from central defence by John Terry's return from suspension.
Why such caution? Nobody needs reminding that Chelsea need to win this. They are only a point in front, so a draw at Anfield would give United the chance to retake the advantage at the most crucial of moments.
But a bit of context has to be factored in. Not only is this an away game, not only do the home side have their pride and the tantalising (if unlikely) possibility of Champions League qualification to aim for, but simply, this is Liverpool.
There is plenty of recent history between Liverpool and Chelsea, and the emphasis is on nail-biting encounters often decided by a narrow margin, so the Blues won't be fooled by the Reds' current lowly position of seventh in the table.
Liverpool have ruined Chelsea's season in high-stakes ties before; witness the 2005 and 2007 second leg defeats in Champions League semi-finals, while the 2006 FA Cup semi-final at Old Trafford saw Rafa and company end Jose Mourinho's own chances of a historic double.
It was even Liverpool who ended Chelsea's mighty 86-match unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge in October 2008, which put the skids under Luiz Felipe Scolari's nascent reign.
Nor is Liverpool's horribly disappointing season any impediment to their ability to match the big boys. Back in October the Reds went into another Anfield clash, with Manchester United, on a run of four consecutive losses which had already compromised their dual Premier League and Champions League challenges.
Their response was unequivocal, sending their rivals back up the M62 with a 2-0 defeat and their tails between their legs, with their desire personified by Fernando Torres - the barely-fit Spaniard tearing through Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic to strike the crucial opener.
Torres himself will be unable to reprise that performance on Sunday of course, which will be a relief to those of a Blue persuasion, for it was he who sent Scolari packing towards the exit door with a late double blast in the corresponding fixture last term.
Chelsea seem to have recovered their composure at an opportune moment, but every bit of that fortitude is about to be vigorously tested. Ancelotti needs no warning of that fact, and will calmly make the decisions that need to be made to ensure his debut season ends in glory.
Simply, no. While we must pause to congratulate Carlo Ancelotti on the roaring success of an innovative and brave selection against the Potters, we have to appreciate the markedly different nature of the challenge that awaits the Blues at Anfield, as the coach surely has already.
Stoke arrived at Stamford Bridge with the joint best away defensive record in the Premier League this season, and Ancelotti decided he would take a sledgehammer to this particular nut. Didier Drogba was not rested as many thought he might have been, with his hernia troubling him, but was instead flanked by Salomon Kalou on one side and Nicolas Anelka (his mooted replacement) on the other.
Florent Malouda remained in the team in a deeper role than normal, with Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard also less advanced than they are accustomed to in the absence of John Obi Mikel.
The tactics defined the mood of Chelsea, and the strength of their reaction following the recent setback at Tottenham, a slip which Manchester United fully exploited to take a provisional lead in the table.
In going for the throat from the off, Chelsea showed they had recovered not just verve, but nerve. Anyone who has paid close attention to the sanguine Ancelotti this season already knew that he would not be cowed, as so many challengers have been, by the psychological jousts of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Kalou was the biggest hit of those to come into the team, scoring his first hat-trick in England, bamboozling Robert Huth and coaxing the Chelsea old boy into hauling him down for the penalty which produced the third goal.
The Ivorian had been symbolic of the tension which gripped the previous home performance, the far-too-narrow-for-comfort win over Bolton Wanderers. Starting his first game in a month, Kalou spurned a handful of presentable chances to give his side much-needed breathing space, and was swiftly returned to the sidelines for the Spurs encounter.
Yet interviewed after yesterday's win, Kalou himself accepted that this stellar display would not guarantee him a starting berth against Liverpool, playing down his performance's personal importance and pointing out the need for a contribution from all the squad's elements.
The world knows that the game with Rafa Benitez's men will define the Premier League title's destiny, so Ancelotti is likely to use the performance at Manchester United which turned the race back in his side's favour as his template.
Kalou will more than likely make way, with midfielders Joe Cole and Malouda likely to flank a sole centre forward in a move designed to encourage the side to maintain a disciplined shape and retain the ball as long as possible, rather than adopt the (necessarily) gung-ho approach they took into the Stoke match.
With possession so important Deco is likely to make a return, with his distribution having been a key element of the victory at Old Trafford. The major doubt is in the defensive midfield role. Mikel will again be absent, and Ballack showed little appetite or aptitude for the more physical side of the anchor role, which will surely be crucial against Steven Gerrard, with the Liverpool skipper returning to optimum form. Don't rule out a policing role for the versatile Juliano Belletti or even Branislav Ivanovic, with the Serbian international displaced from central defence by John Terry's return from suspension.
Why such caution? Nobody needs reminding that Chelsea need to win this. They are only a point in front, so a draw at Anfield would give United the chance to retake the advantage at the most crucial of moments.
But a bit of context has to be factored in. Not only is this an away game, not only do the home side have their pride and the tantalising (if unlikely) possibility of Champions League qualification to aim for, but simply, this is Liverpool.
There is plenty of recent history between Liverpool and Chelsea, and the emphasis is on nail-biting encounters often decided by a narrow margin, so the Blues won't be fooled by the Reds' current lowly position of seventh in the table.
Liverpool have ruined Chelsea's season in high-stakes ties before; witness the 2005 and 2007 second leg defeats in Champions League semi-finals, while the 2006 FA Cup semi-final at Old Trafford saw Rafa and company end Jose Mourinho's own chances of a historic double.
It was even Liverpool who ended Chelsea's mighty 86-match unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge in October 2008, which put the skids under Luiz Felipe Scolari's nascent reign.
Nor is Liverpool's horribly disappointing season any impediment to their ability to match the big boys. Back in October the Reds went into another Anfield clash, with Manchester United, on a run of four consecutive losses which had already compromised their dual Premier League and Champions League challenges.
Their response was unequivocal, sending their rivals back up the M62 with a 2-0 defeat and their tails between their legs, with their desire personified by Fernando Torres - the barely-fit Spaniard tearing through Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic to strike the crucial opener.
Torres himself will be unable to reprise that performance on Sunday of course, which will be a relief to those of a Blue persuasion, for it was he who sent Scolari packing towards the exit door with a late double blast in the corresponding fixture last term.
Chelsea seem to have recovered their composure at an opportune moment, but every bit of that fortitude is about to be vigorously tested. Ancelotti needs no warning of that fact, and will calmly make the decisions that need to be made to ensure his debut season ends in glory.
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