Two teams that should know each other inside out go at it again this weekend. Liverpool and Chelsea have faced each other twenty-four times in the last five years and they have in the process built a rivalry that just didn’t exist during the first ninety-six years of competition.

With Chelsea emerging as an English powerhouse in the middle of this decade an uptick in games against the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United would have been expected.  

But the sheer scope of the rash of Chelsea – Liverpool meetings dwarfs the others by a considerable margin. Over the same period Chelsea has played Arsenal 13 times and Manchester United 15 times so it is difficult to put the greater frequency down to anything else except the luck of the draw.  

Over the five seasons the games have covered the gambit of the good, the bad and the ugly with a couple of greats thrown in.

In assessing the performance of Chelsea so far a lot comes down to whether you are a glass half-full or half-empty type.

Chelsea’s only points stumble so far was last week’s loss to Wigan and of their other six games, four of the wins have come by a two goal margin or better. Didier Drogba has being hitting the twine with six goals so far and Nicolas Anelka has scored two game winners in Chelsea’s Champions League matches. However, as well as losing to Wigan Chelsea also lost the services of goal keeper Petr Cech who was sent off.

Some folks question how much can be read into Chelsea’s performances when you consider their opponents - only Sunderland and Spurs are in the top half of the table.

In the goal scoring department Frank Lampard has been quiet with a penalty kick against Sunderland in round two his only tally so far. By nature most goal scorers are streaky but Chelsea have become use to Lampard contributing 10-12 league goals each season and if they are going to challenge for silverware they need him to rediscover his touch in front of goal.

The loss to Wigan and two less than impressive Champions League wins over Porto and APOEL Nicosia have tarnished the initial luster of manager Carlo Ancelotti. Much was made of Ancelotti successfully instituting a diamond formation but any change in the midfield set up may just be a temporary papering over of the cracks.

The natural width once offered by the likes of Robben and Duff was largely sacrificed as one Chelsea manager after another attempted to accommodate too many similar central midfield players into the line-up and this is only the latest attempt.  

Since Mourinho arrived Chelsea has played with at least one holding midfield player and although John Obi Mikel was seen as the heir to the “Claude Makelele” position he has been marginalized this season. Ancelotti has generally opted for Michael Essien to play in the deeper role.

Essien is often described as a defensive midfield player which is a totally inaccurate depiction of the Ghanaian. The multi-talented Essien is a well rounded player who, amongst other things, can sit in front of defence to provide extra cover but he can also push on and launch attacks with an ambitious arsenal of passes currently beyond Mikel. Essien in a deeper role is an upgrade on Mikel but his talents are still being under employed.

Ballack, Deco, Essien and Lampard are all at their best when pushing forward into attacking positions from the middle of the park. Over the last year a workable solution has been arrived at with Ballack playing on the right side while Florent Malouda’s improved form (and the fact that he provides balance being left footed) has cemented a regular place for him in the line-up.  

Deco seems destined to be odd man out when Ancelotti has a full squad to choose from which leads us back to Frank Lampard. Over the years Lampard’s best performances have come when has been allowed to pick the ball up in deep positions, spread the ball and then get into and around the penalty box to finish off chances.

Ancelotti seems convinced that Lampard can be more effective playing further forward in a more restricted role but so far performances and goal production doesn’t support that view.

If Lampard’s goal scoring doesn’t kick in within the next few games don’t be surprised if Ancelotti’s midfield diamond is taken out and buried.

Who is hot and who is not…a weekly look at the form teams over the last five league games - good and bad.

Premier League
Manchester United – 15 points
Portsmouth – 0 points

Ligue Une
Lyon and Bordeaux -13 points
Grenoble – 0 points

Bundesliga
Hamburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim - 13 points
Hertha Berlin – 0 points

Serie A
Fiorentina, Inter and Sampdoria - 12 points
Livorno – 1 point

La Liga
Barcelona and Real Madrid – 15 points
Xerez – 1 point

SPL
Celtic – 13 points
Kilmarnock and St. Johnstone – 2 points

MLS
FC Dallas, Columbus Crew and Kansas City Wizards - 10 points
New England Revolution – 4 points