Liverpool @ 4/6
Chelsea @ 10/3
Draw @ 18/5
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Released as a single by The Smiths in 1985, That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore is one of the Manchester band’s most highly regarded compositions. Combining an unusual structure with an unexpected waltz time-signature, the song is also an example of something just working, perhaps against all logical expectation.
Over the last two and a half years, much has been made of Chelsea FC’s unusual structure – both on and off the pitch. Owners, players, and myriad accountants have all been piled-up high; creating an ungainly heap so devoid of craft and finesse that it could enter this year’s Turner Prize and win.
Will they be able to continue this simmering act away to the table-toppers at Anfield?
And such an ostensibly reckless approach towards running a football club has led to fulsome, nationwide laughter when the results and expected level of performance failed to transpire. We laughed because they were stupid. We laughed because they were stupid and rich. We laughed because they were stupid and rich and not very good at football.
But then, all of a sudden, this laughter withered in our throats. Our massive smiles drooped. The joke isn’t funny anymore. Chelsea, somehow, is working.
Enzo Maresca has shut us up – like a stand-up comedian mercilessly destroying a drunken heckler. He is gleefully waving his Manager of the Month Award for September right in our mottled faces. Maybe someone does know what they are doing at Stamford Bridge, after all?
Not only are we no longer laughing, Chelsea are also no longer in a mirthful spirit. The clown shoes have been kicked off. They are now wearing scowls. And they are getting tastytoo – The Blues sit comfortably at the top of the yellow card table.
Is this level of aggression an intentional approach? A sly ploy to help keep the players engaged? Or merely the result of a young, naïve squad struggling to rein-in their brimming enthusiasm?
Either way, unlike his predecessor – Mauricio Pochettino – Enzo Maresca seems keen for his charges to keep it up; despite the fact Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana are both set to be suspended for this weekend’s fixture, having already received 5 yellow cards this season.
Will they be able to continue this simmering act away to the table-toppers at Anfield? Find the right balance between intense and sensibility? Or is there a danger they fall of this tight rope, see yellow cards turn to red, leading to a humiliating defeat…and the return of the sound of laughter from opposition fans?
Liverpool v Chelsea is a 4:30pm kick-off on Sunday.
Despite their excellent start to the 2024/25 campaign, Arne Slot has been a profoundly stoic presence on the Liverpool touchline. No inane, Klopp-like toothy grins. No untethered histrionics. No jokes. No nonsense.
Perhaps the Dutchman is keenly aware that Liverpool – according to data based on Opta’sPower Rankings, anyway – have had the easiest opening 10 games of any side in this Premier League campaign. And their toughest match, on paper, against Manchester United at Old Trafford, was probably the easiest of them all.
Slot will also be concerned about a key squad absentee – stalwart goalkeeper Alisson looks set to miss several weeks due to a hamstring injury. A miserly defence has been a fundamental part of Liverpool’s impressive opening overture – just 2 Premier League goals have been conceded as we head into Gameweek 8.
Have Liverpool had it easy? Will a different keeper between the sticks significantly affect their winning, waltzing rhythm? And are they really serious Premier League contenders?
By Sunday evening we should be able to pencil-in more detailed answers to these questions. But I can already confirm that both sides are, in their own way, very serious – regardless of who laughs last this weekend, comedy hour is over; the jokes aren’t funny anymore...
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