It will be all systems go when Chelsea take on Liverpool in their opening Premier League game as the two English giants look forward to putting aside their underwhelming top-flight efforts from last season behind as they both aim to mount a stronger challenge for at least a top-four finish this time around. It is fair to say that Chelsea's first full season under the ownership of the Todd Boehly consortium was not successful as they ended the season in a disastrous manner seeing off the club's worst top-flight campaign for nearly 30 years. Despite spending in excess of £600m on new signings across two transfer windows, the Blues ended the 2022-23 campaign trophyless and failed to qualify for European competition as they languished to a 12th-placed finish in the Premier League, sitting 10 points above the relegation zone and a remarkable 27 points adrift of the top four.

Chelsea's experiments with Frank Lampard and Graham Potter in the dugout failed to make the desired impact with the latter arguably not given enough time to put his stamp on the club. However, there is now plenty of optimism around the appointment of former Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino, who is widely regarded as one of the top coaches in world football and who has been lauded for his ability to work with young players. The Argentine manager has overseen a mass exodus of various first-team players so far netting over £200m in the process, while he has brought into the Chelsea ranks new players amongst them Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Axel Disasi, Robert Sanchez, and Lesley Ugochukwu. The Blues have enjoyed an unbeaten pre-season and came away from their USA tour as champions of the inaugural Premier League Summer Series after accumulating seven points from three games against Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United, and Fulham to top the six-team table. Chelsea then rescued a 1-1 draw in their final warm-up match last week as youngster Mason Burstow netted an 89th-minute equalizer against Borussia Dortmund.
 

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Mauricio Pochettino has only won three of his last sixteen competitive meetings with Liverpool as a manager and he is now getting a baptism of fire in his first competitive match as Chelsea boss against a Liverpool side who have drawn each of their last six meetings with Chelsea, with each of the last four ending in a barren draw including both Premier League encounters last season. No fixture in English football history has ever finished in barren draws five times consecutively. 

Liverpool will also have to go about this season without Champions League football for the first time since Jurgen Klopp's maiden campaign in charge nine seasons ago. They now shift their focus to Europa League football after managing a fifth-place finish last season, four points behind the top-four finish. After taking their hunt for an unprecedented quadruple all the way to the wire in 2021-22, the Reds were unable to mount a serious challenge for any major silverware last season and instead had to swallow the bitter pill of seeing their recent foes Manchester City lift the treble after bagging the FA Cup, EPL, and the UEFA Champions League title. 

The Reds' decision not to bolster their squad with new midfielders last season ultimately came back to haunt them but Jurgen Klopp has overseen a number of quality signings during this transfer window adding Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai to his ranks. Moises Caicedo could also possibly be another that will join the Reds although it is allegedly reported that he prefers joining the Blues squad. Liverpool experienced mixed fortunes in attack and defense during pre-season, with 19 goals scored and 10 conceded across five friendly fixtures. 

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Liverpool are known to always make a strong start to the Premier League season as they have not lost any of their opening matches in the last ten seasons winning eight and drawing two of those. If they manage a victory at Stamford Bridge today, it will end their seven games winless streak against Chelsea. Whichever way the Chelsea versus Liverpool fixture will go, football fans across the globe are in for a treat as two of football's finest battle it out in an epic Premier League encounter.

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