As a group of Merseyside MPs tabled a parliamentary motion that they hope will help to bring about the end of Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr’s ownership of Liverpool, Xabi Alonso was busy plotting how to overthrow Chelsea yesterday as the teams prepare to meet in their top-of-the-table match at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Having beaten Manchester United in the Barclays Premier League last month for the first time under Rafael Benítez’s stewardship, Liverpool have set their sights on ending Chelsea’s remarkable record at home and Alonso wants to send out an “important statement” about Liverpool’s title credentials.

Chelsea last lost at Stamford Bridge in the league in February 2004, when they were defeated 2-1 by Arsenal, and have gone 86 matches unbeaten in the top flight, a run that Alonso is desperate to halt. “Beating United in our first big test of the season was very important for our confidence and this is another big test for us,” the Spain midfield player said. “Being the first team to beat Chelsea at home in the league after all this time would put us in a great position and it would send out an important statement.

“Winning at Stamford Bridge could spur us on for the rest of the season, but even if we win, it would still be too early in the season to say too much about winning the title.”

Liverpool’s task will be made all the harder by the expectation that Fernando Torres will miss the game because of a tear to his right hamstring and Benítez has concerns over the fitness of Robbie Keane after the Ireland striker was substituted during the second half of the 1-1 draw away to Atlético Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday with a groin strain.

Alonso also took a knock to the knee and Steven Gerrard was substituted because of fatigue, but both midfield players should be fit to play.

Off the pitch, Peter Kilfoyle, the Walton MP, has tabled a parliamentary motion, supported by five other Merseyside-based MPs, urging the Government to put pressure on the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) not to grant Hicks and Gillett a six-month extension to their £350 million loan with the bank, which expires at the end of January.

With the Government holding a 60 per cent stake in RBS after providing a £20 billion bailout, Kilfoyle believes that Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, is in a position to put pressure on the bank to prevent such an extension. It comes after Andy Burnham, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, met Spirit of Shankly in August and expressed “solidarity” with the Liverpool supporters’ union over its opposition to Hicks and Gillett’s ownership of the club.

Gillett, who was in Madrid on Wednesday to watch Liverpool, is due to hold a talk on “Sports Ownership: Challenges and Opportunities” at the Global Sports Summit in London this afternoon.