Chelsea and Liverpool renew old rivalries when they face each other at Stamford Bridge in this weeks Friday Night Football. The Blues have made an excellent start to the season but come into this one on the back of what was a disappointing 1-1 draw with Swansea City on Sunday, so they will be keen to respond immediately as they look to stay on the coat-tails of leaders Manchester City. Liverpool meanwhile put in a superb performance in their last match to demolish Premier League champions Leicester City 4-1 at Anfield, so they will be hoping for more of the same in this one.

Antonio Conte has had a great start to life as Chelsea manager and after four Premier League matches the Blues remain unbeaten with three wins and one draw so far. They do come into this one on the back of a frustrating draw with Swansea however, they were thoroughly in control of that match after Diego Costa had put them 1-0 up, but a mistake from Thibaut Courtois allowed the Welsh side back in before Leroy Fer put them ahead, despite appearing to foul Gary Cahill in the build up. Costa managed to strike again late in the match to rescue a point however, but given how well Chelsea performed they really should have won the match so Conte will look at it as two points dropped and will be keen to get back to winning ways in this one.

The Blues will be without captain John Terry who picked up a slight ligament injury against Swansea, so recent signing David Luiz looks set to deputise. Luiz of course is starting his second spell at Stamford Bridge and Conte has high hopes for him, claiming he can make him one of the best defenders in world football. It may well be a blessing in disguise that he will play instead of Terry considering the pace that Liverpool have in attack. He is quicker than his English teammate and could be better equipped to cope with the threat that the Reds pose going forward.

Barring a blip against Burnley, Liverpool have also enjoyed a great start to the Premier League campaign, especially when you consider who they have already faced. The Reds have played all of last seasons top three and managed to claim high scoring wins over Leicester City and Arsenal as well as bagging a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane against Tottenham. The Merseyside club are one of the best sides to watch in the Premier League these days as there is always goals in their games, they have actually scored more goals in the league than any other side in 2016 with 50 to their name and 24 of those coming away from home so expect them to bag at least once here.

Their attacking players have all started the season bang in form which will have delighted manager Jurgen Klopp. Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Adam Lallana and Sadio Mane have all already bagged themselves two goals each and they looked at their fluid best last time out against Leicester City. Mane looks to have added lots to Liverpool having joined from Southampton in the summer. His pace is electric and immediately puts defenders on the back foot, the majority of them do not know how to deal with him. His pace allows playmakers such as Lallana and Coutinho to pick him out with eye of the needle through balls and Chelsea will have to ensure they mark Mane out of the game to take away Liverpool’s main threat. Lallana has arguably been their most improved player under Klopp, he has gone from looking an expensive flop to becoming the first name on the team sheet at the moment. The German manager really rates the England man, he has moved him into a deeper central midfield position and it is paying dividends with his amazing energy and work rate allowing him to get up and down the pitch. He is now starting to add goals to his game with three already this season for club and country which was the one thing missing from his game, he will be key for Liverpool here.

This has all the makings to be a classic between two sides who are bang in form at the moment. Whilst Liverpool have looked extremely good going forward there are still plenty of question marks about them defensively and we expect Chelsea to highlight these with the likes of Costa, Eden Hazard, Willian and Oscar all having sufficient quality to do damage. For this reason we think Chelsea may just edge it as they are a more solid unit at the back than their counterparts. Conte is also enjoying a record of 30 home matches as a manager without a defeat, winning 28 of those so it would take a brave person to back against the London side. Goals look a given so backing over 2.5 at 3/4 could be the safest option, whilst backing Costa to bag anytime at 6/4 looks a great price with him having already netted four in four this term

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