The leading individual scorer in the Premier League has sent a message of warning to the side that currently tops the table.
Chelsea FC forward Tammy Abraham, whose seven scoring strikes this season are ahead of everybody else in the field, has said his side will move on from last night’s disappointing 1-0 UCL loss to Valencia quickly, and that they will channel that frustration into their marquee showdown at home versus Liverpool FC on Sunday.
Both clubs suffered bad defeats last night in Champions League action, as Chelsea played more than well enough to win, but failed to score and Ross Barkley missed a penalty kick. They also lost one of their most promising young players, Mason Mount, to injury.
As for Liverpool, they fell 2-0 to Napoli, and saw manager Jurgen Klopp place some of the blame on the officiating afterwards. Domestically, the Reds are the only unblemished side this season thus far, having taken all 15 points possible.
They head into Stamford Bridge this weekend five points clear of everybody else and seven ahead of sixth place Chelsea.
“(Sunday’s headliner fixture) is a test of character,” said Tammy Abraham. “We can take our anger out against Liverpool. It’s a massive game and both teams will be going to win. We’ll look forward to putting [the defeat against Valencia] right.”
“It’s still early doors (in the European competition). We’re fuming we lost, but there’s still five games to go – we just have to win our next five.”
“We’re obviously disappointed. We didn’t play our best football. Valencia came and stopped us playing the way we wanted so you have to give them credit.”
Liverpool FC at Chelsea FC FYIs
Kickoff: Sun Sept 22, Stamford Bridge 4:30 pm local
Google Result Probability: Liverpool win 48% Draw 26% Chelsea win 26%
Form Guide: Liverpool WWWWW Chelsea WDWDL
Best Odds via Smart bet: Liverpool win 2.02, Draw 3.85, Chelsea win 3,82
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.