It's been the strangest of weeks, almost to the point where the Chelsea game on Sunday has come second in significance to the implications of the charges against Suarez.

From a press point of view making any sort of statement of note could have massive legal implications so that very little opinion has been forthcoming anywhere, except for that from Gus Poyet.

We all want to believe in our own player and circumstances being what they are regarding such a crowd favourite, it'd surely be very hard to find a Liverpool supporter anywhere who doesn't believe in the innocence of the Uruguayan.

I'm sure the FA will be attempting to follow a pattern that equates with the law of the land but below the surface there's undoubtedly plenty to leave a nasty taste in the mouth. Those who hate Liverpool have now got pretty much all the ammunition they want to apportion guilt without any kind of a trial. You know, no smoke without fire.

As a consequence, with regards Sunday, one of the generally better fixtures of the season seems to have almost crept up on us. Chelsea have been leaking goals of late while Liverpool cannot seem to score them. How do you balance that equation? Rest assured, Steve Clarke as much as anyone will be well up for this and he'll hopefully be well sussed out as to how to play it.

The other factor in this is the presence of Martin Atkinson with the whistle. Consistency has never been this official's strength. His low-key demeanour may on the one hand endear him to the players in one sense, but his decision-making has never really stood scrutiny over a series of games. He's well up to giving a bad penalty or sending a player off needlessly. Somebody, somewhere has previously called him a homer. I don't think he is, but there's no saying what calamitous decision may arise which has the most massive bearing on the game.

As for the result, I'd say first goal wins the game; whoever loses it might find it immensely hard to pull back. Nobody, I feel,  gives Liverpool much chance so we can but hope that the underdog status which suits us so well will prevail.

Mike Hopper