Match Preview: Liverpool vs Chelsea

Liverpool's season looks to have amounted to nothing, but they could put a major dent in Chelsea's title bid.

With just two games of the season remaining, the Reds are close to being put out of their misery.

Europa League heartache against Atletico Madrid on Thursday summed up their campaign, with Rafa Benitez's side now set to miss out on any silverware and possibly a top-four finish.

They must take maximum points from their remaining fixtures to have any hope of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, but even that might not be enough.

The only positive for Liverpool at the moment is that they are unbeaten in five Premier League outings and are on course to finish with a flourish.

They have also won nine and lost none of their last 10 top-flight games on home soil, with Anfield becoming something of a fortress once more.

The Reds also boast a more than respectable record against Chelsea on Merseyside over recent years, with the Blues having left empty-handed on 11 occasions during the Premier League era.

The capital giants have also failed to score in four of their last six league meetings with Liverpool, suggesting they are yet to work out how best to play Benitez's side.

Carlo Ancelotti knows he cannot afford to draw a blank again this weekend, with it imperative Chelsea take maximum points from their trip to the North West.

A win, coupled with a Manchester United defeat at Sunderland later in the day, would be enough for them to wrap up the title.

However, with it looking increasingly likely that the battle will go down to the wire, they will be keen to head into the final day with some sort of a lead.

They have been absolutely flying of late, ensuring confidence around the camp is sky high, with their last six outings bringing 23 goals and five wins.


Team news
Liverpool will still be without talismanic frontman Fernando Torres, following knee surgery, but their problems have eased slightly this week.

Dirk Kuyt and David Ngog were both involved in continental competition in midweek, with Kuyt fit enough to start against Atletico, and they are likely to be involved again on Sunday.

Emiliano Insua is struggling to figure again this season, as he nurses a thigh complaint, and the Argentine full-back will not be available against the Blues.

Benitez must decide whether to stick with the system he used on Thursday, which saw Javier Mascherano used at right-back and Alberto Aquilani and Steven Gerrard paired in the middle of midfield, or shuffle his pack again.

Chelsea do not expect to have John Obi Mikel available for selection at Anfield.

The Nigerian midfielder is still struggling with a knee problem and will not be rushed back into action.

Michael Essien is also nursing a knee injury, and misses out as a result, while Jose Bosingwa has been ruled out for the remainder of the season and this summer's World Cup.

Ricardo Carvalho is making steady progress in his recovery from an ankle knock, but it remains to be seen whether the Portuguese centre-half is thrown back into action this weekend, while John Terry returns from suspension to skipper the side.


Possible starting XIs
Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Kyrgiakos, Carragher, Agger, Kuyt, Mascherano, Aquilani, Benayoun, Gerrard, Torres.

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Ashley Cole, Ballack, Lampard, Malouda, Kalou, Drogba, Anelka.

Malouda Unconcerned By United

Chelsea's in-form winger Florent Malouda insists Manchester United should be doing all the worrying as the Blues prepare for their crucial title clash with Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Chelsea sit on top of the Barclays Premier by a single point over United.

The Blues take on Liverpool in the 1.30pm kick-off at Anfield on Sunday followed by United's game at Sunderland at 4pm.

Defeat for either team could effectively spell the end of their title chances but Malouda insists United have more to worry about than Chelsea.

"Honestly, I don't care about United," said Malouda. "They are behind us. Why should we look in the mirror and say: 'Oh they are there'? We're under pressure but we like the pressure.

"We are still on top of the league, one point in front of them. We have the League in our hands and we have to make it.

"I think United would like to be in our position and we must never forget that. I would have taken the current position at the start of the season.

"We don't have to care about what United are doing and who they are playing. We just have to stay focused.

"The good thing about our position is that we don't have to think about the other results. If we win our games we will be celebrating after the last one."

Chelsea's players are having to cope with huge expectations as they bid for an historic League and FA Cup Double.

They could become only the seventh club to achieve the feat but such talk has been banned from the training ground.

"Everybody around us is thinking about the Double but we are not speaking about it," added Malouda.

"Of course we want to do it. We've been on top of the league for the most part of the season and now is the time to finish the job."

The two games have thrown up a number of tantalising issues for the conspiracy theorists but coach Carlo Ancelotti is mindful not to get drawn into them.

He dismissed suggestions Liverpool would not try hard enough to beat his side because doing so would open the door for their hated rivals Manchester United to surpass their total of 18 titles.

Ancelotti was also nonplussed by the possibility Bruce would do his old mentor, Sir Alex Ferguson, a favour at the Stadium of Light.

"I don't think about this," said Ancelotti. "I think that Sunderland will do their best to beat United and Liverpool will do the same against us.

"Every team has respect for this Premier League and every team has to do their best until the end of the matches.

"We have to pay attention because Liverpool are a strong team and it's very difficult to win at Anfield, but we have to try. We need to have three more points after Sunday.

"I am pleased to play first. But I said we have one more point than United. With two victories we can be champions, so we have to focus on our game and not think about Sunderland's result. We are not interested in that. We want to be champions and that's the only important thing."

Frank Lampard And Steven Gerrard Ready To Renew Rivalry

Amid the usual raised eyebrows and shaking of heads when the PFA's Premier League team of the year was announced during last Sunday's gala dinner, there was one omission of particular significance that went almost unnoticed.

Not since 2003 had Steven Gerrard failed to make the all-star team, yet the scale of Liverpool's collective failure this season had ensured that the inclusion of any of Rafael Benítez's players would have proved far more conspicuous.

Frank Lampard was also unusually absent, with his fellow professionals ushering in a new era of young central midfielders by their collective preference for Cesc Fabregas, James Milner and Darren Fletcher (average age 24).

Yet was that fair? Are Gerrard and Lampard, whose long rivalry will resume at Anfield on Sunday, no longer among the elite of the Premier League?

Or are they simply judged by their own past achievements and thus a little more harshly than their younger rivals?

In the case of Lampard, that would appear to be the case. After all, in the 2004-05 season, when he scored what was then considered to be an extraordinary total of 22 goals from central midfield, he was voted the Football Writers' Player of the Year.

Since then, he has scored 20 or more in seven consecutive seasons, peaking this campaign with 30 and counting across all competitions.

"He is the best 'running' midfielder in the world," said Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager. "He has this fantastic quality to time his runs into the box."

Yet while Lampard is arguably enjoying the finest season of his career, the situation with Gerrard is depressing.

The photographs of him trudging across the Anfield pitch after Thursday's Europa League exit against Atletico Madrid were an appropriate reflection of a miserable season.

It now seems almost impossible to believe that it was only a year ago that he was collecting the Football Writers' Player of the Year award and speaking with such optimism about Liverpool's future.

With Chelsea going for a third Premier League title since 2005, Gerrard may also reflect that it is six years since he made that monumental decision to resist a lucrative move to Stamford Bridge.

He will be forever revered on Merseyside for his loyalty, yet there may also be an envious glance on Sunday at Lampard who, over the next fortnight, stands on the brink of inspiring Chelsea to a seventh and eighth major trophy since 2004.

Ivanovic - We Have The Quality

Branislav Ivanovic insists Chelsea must show their quality from the start as they prepare to do battle with Liverpool.

A win for the Blues at Anfield would boost their bid to lift the Premier League trophy but defeat could just about hand the title to Manchester United as one of the closest-run seasons for the championship enters its penultimate stage.

The Serbian defender believes if they play like they have against the big three, which has seen the side win five out of five, then Carlo Ancelotti's men should be the ones to clinch the title.

"We have to win two league games and the FA Cup final and then I can say 'yes, this season for me is very good'," said the 26-year-old

"The most important game of the season is coming up. We will do everything we can on the pitch.

"This team has the quality to win double titles but we have to show it on Sunday and if we play this season like we did in all the big games, then we can hope that we can win and win the Premier League as well."

In the run-up to Sunday's main event, team-mate Nicolas Anelka said he is surprised by his former club's performance this season.

The 31-year-old spent the second half of the 2001/02 campaign on loan with Liverpool, however never secured a permanent deal.

The Chelsea forward feels Liverpool's last minute exit from the Europa League at the hands of Atletico Madrid could work in the Reds' favour and spur them on to get back to winning ways, starting with a victory against the league leaders.

"You never know how they will be affected, maybe they will want a response after losing in Europe and be more determined to win against Chelsea," the Frenchman said.

"I cannot tell you how they will react but it is all about Chelsea - we have to go there and try to win it.

"This season for Liverpool surprises me a little bit because they are a big team with a lot of good players, but sometimes you can have a bad season as a team and you have to accept it, they still have a good squad that can win games."

Carlo - Terry Will Return

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that John Terry will return to the starting line-up for the crunch game against Liverpool.

The Blues travel to Anfield in the Premier League on Sunday and will welcome their captain back from suspension following his red card at Tottenham.

Chelsea can put one hand on the league title with a win on Merseyside, as they currently lead Manchester United by one point with just two games remaining.

Terry missed the 7-0 demolition of Stoke last weekend as Alex and Branislav Ivanovic were in the centre of defence, but Ancelotti knows the team is better with the former England skipper's character leading from the back.

"Terry will play because we need to have his character, we need to have his personality in this game," he said.

"He trains very well, he is in good condition, and all the players are fit and are able to play.

"It's difficult to change the team that played very well against Stoke but Terry needs to play."

With the title race on a knife edge, certain quarters have suggested that Liverpool will not put in 100 per cent against Chelsea so as not to hand rivals Manchester United another piece of silverware.

Similarly, with Sunderland facing United this weekend, it has been argued that the Black Cats will not be going all-out for the three points because of Steve Bruce's ties with the Red Devils.

However, Ancelotti has dismissed such claims and says he is sure every team will be doing their utmost to come out on top in the respective fixtures.

"I don't think about this. I think Sunderland will do their best to beat Manchester United, and the same for Liverpool to beat us," he added.

"I think every team has respect of this Premier League and every team has to do the best until the end of the matches.

"I think that we have to pay attention because Liverpool is a strong team, it is very difficult to win at Anfield.

"We have to try because we need to have three more points after Sunday."

Carlo Ancelotti: Liverpool Will Test Us Despite Europa League Commitments, I’ve Never Seen Them Tired At Anfield

Carlo Ancelotti doesn't believe Liverpool will show any ill-effects of Thursday night's Europa League exit when they face Chelsea on Sunday.

Rafael Benitez's side were forced to play 120 minutes at Anfield, but Diego Forlan's extra-time strike still ensured the Reds would not be heading to the final in Hamburg. Some pundits have expected the side to suffer from fatigue after such effort in Sunday's game, but Ancelotti appears the support of the Kop will ensure that is not the case.

"They could be tired because they played 2 hours last night, but I have never seen Liverpool tired at Anfield," Ancelotti said at his press conference.

Much speculation has also surrounded the potential effort of the Liverpool players, as a victory against Chelsea could inadvertently hand arch-rivals Manchester United an all-important 19th league crown. But, with United also going against Sunderland and their former player Steve Bruce, Ancelotti believes every team will play to win.

"I don't think about this," Ancelotti said.

"I think Sunderland will do the best to beat Manchester United and the same Liverpool will do to beat us because I think every team has respect for the Premier League and every team has to do the best until the end of their matches.

"So I think that we have to pay attention because Liverpool is a strong team, it is very difficult to win at Anfield but we have to try because we need to have three more points after Sunday."

Although acknowledging the difficulty of playing the Reds on their home ground, Ancelotti cut a relaxed figure as he joked about what he might say in his teamtalk ahead of the game.

"The opposite of what I said before Tottenham!" Ancelotti offered, referring to the Blues' last away game where they fell 2-1 to their rivals.

"I'm not worried, we had a good week here at Cobham with no problems, maybe I'll be worried at the end of the season but I hope I'll be happy."

With John Terry back and available for selection, Ancelotti is confident with the options at his disposal. And he also had some kind words for Didier Drogba, after the striker was named among Time magazine's 10 most influential people in the world.

"He's a good player and a good man," Ancelotti said.

"But also he is a very noble person."

Chelsea Will Outbid Real Madrid For Pato

Chelsea will outbid Real Madrid no matter how much the Spanish giants bid for AC Milan star Pato according to reports in the Italian media. AC Milan have made it clear that Pato will not be leaving the San Siro this summer no matter how much is offered but both Chelsea and Real Madrid have simply ignored the statements coming out of Milan and intend to push on with their pursuit of the young Brazilian.

Carlo Ancelotti wants to bring in new players and has made this clear to the Chelsea board and has pinpointed Pato as his number one target and by all accounts has managed to convince Abramovich that whatever funds are spent on Pato it is worth it for a player that could end up spending 10 years at Stamford Bridge.

Real Madrid no doubt will still try and splash the cash but even with the backing of the banks the Madrid outfit still cannot compete with Abramovich’s billions and if it came to a straight out bidding war then Chelsea would win. Chelsea also have the advantage of having Ancelotti in their corner and his previous relationship with Pato can only help. The Pato saga is far from over as far as Chelsea and Real Madrid are concerned.

Carlo Ancelotti Insists He Has No Plans To Leave London

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti told Tuttosport he is aiming to win the Premier League with the club and is "not moving from London" in the foreseeable future.

The Blues take on Liverpool on Sunday as the title race nears a conclusion although the former AC Milan coach does not expect the Reds to make life easy for his side - despite their fierce rivalry with Manchester United.

"They do not love United, but will not just hand us points," said Ancelotti.

When questioned about his future, the Chelsea manager claimed he was "not moving from London," effectively putting paid to any suggestions that he would be looking to quit the Stamford Bridge club in the summer.

The Manager's Not For Mind Games

There are some football managers - no need to mention names here - who given a similar scenario to the one Carlo Ancelotti finds himself in this weekend, would not only speak about their team and forthcoming opponents, but would also have plenty to say about teams in action elsewhere.

Ancelotti's first year in charge of Chelsea has been characterised by a calmness and that isn't about to end now the final and decisive month is here.

'To do mind games is not my job,' the Italian says on the eve of the trip to Anfield.

'I am not able to do this. I prefer to stay focused with my players. I have a lot of things to think about because we have to prepare well the game, tactically, technically and physically, and this is our aim this week. I don't stay too much about the other things.

'I don't think this is important,' he says of public pronouncements ahead of a big fixture

'What is important is to have a good feeling with the players this week to control the pressure and to maintain a good atmosphere in the squad. We have to have pressure but not too much. We have to believe that we are able to win against Liverpool on Sunday.'

At the end of a week when a former Chelsea manager, not unknown to talk a lot before a big game, celebrated his latest triumph in exuberant style, his successor is unlikely to copy a victory run across the pitch even if the Blues are successful at Anfield.

'I'd risk injury,' Ancelotti smiles.

'I did when I won the Champions League. I ran like Jose [Mourinho] last week. It depends how your emotion is but when Milan won in Manchester I ran after the penalty of Andriy Shevchenko.

'I didn't send Jose a text this week but I did after their first game against Barcelona,' he reveals. 'It said, "Compliments, congratulations."'

Far more comfortable speaking about Chelsea, the boss admitted that the team's potency in front of goal this season, which has included three seven-goal hauls, has been a pleasant surprise.

'I did not think this team could score so many as 93 goals, but I am happy. We try to play attacking football and we are a team that can use a midfielder who can score 25 goals in a season. Nobody else has this.

'We have fantastic strikers and we also have support from midfield. We have Frank Lampard with 25 goals, Florent Malouda who has scored 15 goals although he is not a striker. This is why we scored so many goals.'