Chelsea v Liverpool @ Stamford Bridge
Tuesday January 27 @ 7.45pm
Chelsea’s hopes of a treble hang in the balance tomorrow night when they host Liverpool in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final tie.
Raheem Sterling’s superb individual goal forced Chelsea to a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Anfield last week, making Eden Hazard’s away goal the only difference between the two.
Chelsea will be looking for a place in the final after suffering a 4-2 defeat to League One’s Bradford City on Saturday in one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup history.
The loss ended hopes of an unprecedented quadruple but Jose Mourinho will likely field a strong side on Tuesday after resting several key players against Bradford.
Diego Costa, Thibault Courtois and Nemanja Matic were all left out of the squad while Cesc Fabregas and Hazard only featured in the last 20 minutes.
All of those will likely feature on Tuesday while the visitors have Daniel Sturridge on standby, with the striker returning to training this week after a long injury layoff.
With a cup final in touching distance, Mourinho will have important squad decisions to make ahead of a clash with Premier League title rivals Manchester City on Saturday.
Brendan Rodgers’ men will find confidence in their current unbeaten run of ten games, despite not scoring against Bolton in their FA Cup clash on Saturday in a goalless draw.
They were also the much better side against the league leaders last week, although Mourinho remains unbeaten in four games against Rodgers.
Despite their dominance in possession and attempts on goal, Liverpool were unable to beat Courtois twice, which could prove an important factor on Tuesday.
The winners will go on to face either Tottenham or Sheffield United, who play on Wednesday, in the final.
Star man: Eden Hazard
Danger man: Raheem Sterling
Last meeting: Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea, League Cup, Anfield, January 20 2014
Picture courtesy of Brent Flanders, with thanks
