Eden Hazard is Chelsea's star man. 

Without the Belgian, the Blues just seem flat and when he's not on the pitch, his team seem to lack any kind of excitement and creativity. 

Against West Ham on Monday night, he was the match winner. Hazard scored a memorable solo goal in the first half, dancing his way through five defenders. 

He then secured all three points by smashing in a second goal late on. 

The same themes were present against Slavia Prague on Thursday. Chelsea were poor for 60 minutes against their Czech opposition before calling on Hazard from the bench. 

They eventually struggled to a 1-0 win away in Prague, but it was a performance that will hardly fill fans with confidence ahead of a crunch fixture against Liverpool on Sunday. 

It's an important game for both sides - with the Reds chasing their first Premier League title and the Blues fighting for a Champions League spot. 

But Paul Merson has tipped Maurizio Sarri to hand Liverpool a huge boost - by resting Hazard for the fixture. 

"I’m not sure if Eden Hazard’s going to play as the Europa League is a massive competition for Chelsea," Merson told Sky Sports. 

"For the manager, winning that competition is bigger for him than getting into the top four – for a manager who’s never won anything before.

"This is a big opportunity for Sarri so it’s a question of what team gets set up for Chelsea.

"If Chelsea play their full team, and don’t worry about next Thursday, this will be game on – no question about that – but I’m just going to go for Liverpool."

Well, that's a rather bizarre prediction ahead of one of the most anticipated matches of the domestic season. 

Yes, winning the Europa League could well be Chelsea's best chance of Champions League qualification - but they already have a 1-0 lead ahead of a home leg against Prague on Thursday.

So for Merson to suggest that Hazard should be rested for one of the biggest fixtures of the season seems a little odd.