English Premier League Week 10 Preview: Can Liverpool Ditch The Drop Zone?

Last week, Liverpool recorded their first win since August against a poor Blackburn Rovers team. Still, they sit in 18th place, a long way back of the top four. Liverpool aren't nearly as bad as their 18th place standing, but it's hard to tell how good they really are. They're probably not as good as Tottenham or Manchester City, but how good are they compared to the other teams in the top half? This week, we get closer to the answer as they travel to the Reebok Stadium to face eighth placed Bolton.

Bolton got off to a great start this season, but their draw last week against Wigan was very disappointing. Liverpool isn't exactly the best team to rebound against, but it's hard to write Bolton off for this match, or even make any kind of prediction. Liverpool have looked dire enough at times to lose to anyone, as evidenced by their atrocious performance against Blackpool, but the names on the roster can still strike fear into the hearts of opponents. Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard can score at any time. Stuart Holden, Lee Chung-Yong, Johan Elmander, and Kevin Davies are off to great starts for the team, but Liverpool are on a different talent level, even if they don't show it at times. Those four players, among others, will need to bring their A games on Sunday.

Key Matchup: Fernando Torres versus the Bolton defense. Despite Torres' struggles early on, he's still a world class striker. Last week, he scored the winner against Blackburn and hopefully for the Reds, that's a sign of things to come. Bolton's defense has been adequate this year, but they might be below par without Gary Cahill. The English central defender has been top notch all season and will be key in containing Torres. Obviously, Liverpool have a number of other weapons that they can attack Bolton with, but shutting down Torres will go a long way towards keeping Liverpool off the score sheet.