Chelsea-Liverpool a fight for Europa League Conference but Blues fans have no appetite for that competition

BY PAUL LAGAN
paul@slpmedia.co.uk

Chelsea travel to Liverpool tomorrow in a game labelled the fight for UEFA Europa League Conference qualification.

To be fair, talk among Blues fans is that they would prefer no European football next season than qualification into that tournament.

They may get their wish.

Both sides have fallen from the dizzy heights of the top of the Premier League and Champions League finals in recent years to being ninth and 10th respectively.

It’s been a miserable season for both managers too.

The bags under Chelsea head coach Graham Potter’s eyes have become more pronounced in the four months since he took charge in SW6, illustrating the stress of trying to put together a winning side.

Jurgen Klopp would never allow such a disfigurement. For him, there is always a laser treatment to fall back on. Not that he has, of course.

Potter has the grace period afforded to him by the new owners to keep calm and carry on.

They don’t want to deal with the embarrassment of sacking their first head coach appointment so early. Trying to do things differently from the Roman Abramovich regime is something very much in the forefront of their thinking.

The owners have instead been focusing on achieving other prioritises – and that does not necessarily mean team results.

Their activity in building up a backroom of senior management, coupled with setting up a feasibility plan for the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge has meant they have left the more delicate task of team selection to Potter to sort.

They have also focused their attention on building a squad that will challenge for silverware next season.

They have spent more than half a billion pounds on players so far. And with Enzo Fernandez still on their radar, that figure could be £100million greater by the time the January transfer window ends.

But they have given great attention to how they pay that money. Long-term contracts to the new guys means they can spread the annual outlay over a longer period, thus paying, probably over the odds, but over a seven-year contract, it’s deemed a worthy risk

The idea is not to fall foul of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

It’s an ambitious narrative for the new owners, who want to make changes quickly.

The narrow 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at the weekend hasn’t really done anything other than give Potter seven days respite from the stress of the job.

Potter can justifiably claim that he has had to contend with 11 first-team players out injured.

He quotes narrow losses to sides, suggesting the results could have gone the another way. He doesn’t want to cite bad luck as a reason for their predicament as it’s a cliched response and one that won’t be viewed upon favourably. The former Brighton boss thinks this is the worst it’s ever been for him as a manager.

The next couple of weeks will see the return of a few of the senior injured players which should help his cause.

Reece James is back in training, and could feature on the bench at Anfield. He will want to avenge the sending off he suffered last season in an entertaining 1-1 draw.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek should return from injury too.

On-loan striker Joao Felix will be sitting in the stands serving the second of his three-match ban after his sending off at Craven Cottage.

How many of the new guys will play in the cauldron that is Anfield is a decision Potter will be mulling over as he finishes his team selection.

Winger Mykhailo Mudryk, from Ukraine football, will make his debut, which could see the end of Hakim Ziyech’s career at Stamford Bridge.

With so many players injured, Potter has had to bank on players who are deemed surplus to requirements, and the Morocco wide man fits that bill.

A loan move to AC Milan or Juventus is on the cards.

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD