Don't miss any of the action.
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Date: September 17, 2016
Time: 12:30 AM
Channel: Star Sports 4 and Star Sports Select HD
Live Streaming: Hotstar (Premier Subscription Needed)
The Premier League table has returned to familiar type after last season's delightful anomaly featuring Leicester City, with Manchester City and Chelsea now setting the pace and Manchester United back in the top four.
Between them, those three teams have won the title in 11 out of the past 12 campaigns and are already marked out as favourites to contest the title this time round too.
Antonio Conte's Chelsea have an early chance to set the weekend pace with the Friday night visit of Juergen Klopp's Liverpool, who return to London for the third time in five games after winning at Arsenal and drawing with Tottenham Hotspur. Stamford Bridge will be the backdrop to an intriguing subplot involving two of the most excitable managers in the league and goals should trigger wild celebrations on the touchline.
On their day, Klopp's side are a match for the 'big three' and arrive on the back of the 4-1 demolition of last season's champions, Leicester. Although he did not score at Anfield, Daniel Sturridge looked back to his best and produced a stunning assist to set up Sadio Mane.
Not surprisingly, Klopp is looking for more of the same. Asked on Wednesday how they would reach the same high pitch, the German said it was a case of "staying greedy".
"The movements were brilliant. Daniel was involved in three or four goals. For the first one, it was a brilliant run," he added.
Liverpool know they must nullify the threat of Diego Costa, who has scored four goals in as many Premier League games, but the Brazilian Oscar has been almost as influential in Chelsea's strong start.
Statistics released this week by oulala.com show that since being handed a more deep-lying role by Conte, Oscar has made more successful passes and tackles and created more chances than in any of his four previous seasons with the Londoners.
Victory would only put Chelsea top for less than 24 hours should Manchester City, still defending a 100 percent record since Pep Guardiola took the reins, then defeat Bournemouth, a team they have never lost to, at the Etihad on Saturday.
Everton sit just behind Chelsea in third place and will be favourites to pick up another three points against Middlesbrough, particularly now that Romelu Lukaku, who scored a hat-trick against Sunderland on Monday, is back among the goals.
At 35, Everton's Gareth Barry is expected to become only the third player to play 600 Premier League games, with only Frank Lampard (609) and Ryan Giggs (632) ahead of him.
Leicester will hope their debut Champions League victory in Bruges in midweek will give them impetus to push their way back up the table after a poor start to their title defence as they entertain promoted Burnley.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will be looking for an early response from his players, whom he felt lacked the right mentality to win last week's Manchester derby.
A trip to Watford, who were buoyed by last week's stirring comeback win at West Ham United, will test their mettle.
Stoke City's Mark Hughes and West Bromwich Albion's Tony Pulis are the managers most in need of wins, against Crystal Palace and West Ham respectively, as early-season pressure begins to build.
Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp enjoyed the first win of his Premier League career at a stumbling Chelsea last October but expects a much tougher challenge when his side return to Stamford Bridge on Friday.
Liverpool have been buoyed by the 4-1 thrashing of Premier League champions Leicester City last weekend but Chelsea now have Italian Antonio Conte in charge and have made a strong start after last year's slump.
"I'm very excited, games against Chelsea are always special things in the Premier League," said the German, whose team won 3-1 in west London last year with Philippe Coutinho scoring twice.
"They're a strong side and in a good moment. They're competitive, physically strong (and have) learned from the experience of last year.
"Last season was not a Chelsea season, obviously, and now they are back on track and that's how it is and so we need to be ready for a real challenge."
Former Juventus and Italy coach Conte, dubbed the 'Pep Guardiola of Turin' by Klopp, joined Chelsea after Euro 2016 and has led the former champions to three wins in four league games this season putting them second in the table.
The Italian, like Klopp, has become renowned for his goal celebrations and in his case also volcanic eruptions even at near-misses.
"I don't know Antonio well enough to say why, but he looks quite emotional when they don't score," said Klopp, who last weekend urged his own supporters to stop chanting his name until the game was over.
The German was confident Liverpool, who are three points behind Chelsea in sixth place, could surprise Conte's side but said there would be plenty of mutual respect.
"We have a challenge and we want to go there and create real problems for them," he told a news conference. "I feel good when I think about it. That doesn't mean anything, unfortunately, but I'm looking forward to it."
Liverpool's Croatia defender Dejan Lovren will return to the squad after missing the Leicester game with a bruised eye but midfielder Emre Can is still returning to fitness after an ankle injury sustained in August.
"Emre is not injured any more, which is good, but now he needs to train, so that's how it is," said Klopp.
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