Liverpool vs Chelsea- Champions League Semi Final 1st Leg Preview

[Kenneth]

Will it ****. We must win the home game and we will

We'll score away imo. 0-0 and 1-0 aren't that much different with away goals.

[Skillz]

Two players for me are going to play a key role.

Alonso - got a feeling that he will play his best game for the season tonight. No essien and Makalele will be busy keeping Gerrard quiet.

Kuyt - Same reason, they are going to be so focused on stopping Adonis.. whoops Torres I have a feeling he will sneek in to score, much like Arse at the Emirates.

[Joe King]

Come on- 3 and 3/4 hours to go. How is everyone?

Any songs being hummed?
Any special arrangements being made?

[jonesie]

Come on- 3 and 3/4 hours to go. How is everyone?

Any songs being hummed?
Any special arrangements being made?

Just got a call from my sister (who I'm going to the game with) arranging where to pick me up.

It's getting real now...

NERVES!!!!

[dww]

We'll score away imo. 0-0 and 1-0 aren't that much different with away goals.

I'm pretty much with you actually. I'm not sure I could stand the tension of a 0-0 though.

[jonesie]

Speaking as someone who was at both the 2005 and 2007 semis, and is going tonight, this just doesn't quite feel the same. Whatever happens (neither team is going to win 3 or 4-0) we just don't know what it will mean until next week.

There's not going to be any wild celebrations like the previous semis, which probably means that the team need us more.

[Joe King]

Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks is expected to arrive at Anfield a few hours before kick-off with a police escort due to the ill-feelings towards him amongst the Liverpool fan base. Merseyside police had expressed concern at his presence here tonight but Hicks will be taking his seat on the front row of the directors' box - he is already in the city. Representatives of DIC are also here tonight, police say although they are not in a position to discuss any individuals' safety, the safety of those attending has been reviewed."

[Joe King]

Heres what Bolo Zenden had to say:

There is some history there but at the same time history and records are there to be broken.

The fact is Chelsea playing the second leg at home makes it different to previous years and we know how spooky it can get at Anfield.

But I lost the final with Liverpool last year so I'm hopeful they will do well again and win through this year.

I had a good time with the club and still have good contact with the players and staff over there.

We could get an all-England final and then anything is possible.

Obviously, Liverpool have been there before - this would be the third final in four years, they know the drill now so maybe they can win it this time.

[Joe King]

Alan Hansen's view :

So to Chelsea's semi-final with Liverpool - a case of "here we go again" after their meetings at the same stage in 2005 and 2007.

Chelsea will be hoping it is third time lucky after losing the previous two semi-finals - and there is an interesting change in the dynamic from the other clashes.

The second leg is at Stamford Bridge as opposed to Anfield, where Liverpool have been inspired to victory on the last two occasions in amazing atmospheres.

My theory on this is not so much the effect this has on the away team, more the galvanising impact on the home side.

I have to say I don't believe the Anfield atmosphere would have struck terror into men like Chelsea duo John Terry and Frank Lampard - when I played in similar games for Liverpool and the home crowd was hostile it never used to affect me.

The key to home advantage on the big European nights is the effect it has on the home players - and you could see the Liverpool players growing and being more inspired as they received the backing of fervent fans.

This is what Chelsea will hope will make the difference for them in the second leg.

There has been a lot of criticism of Avram Grant and yet here is a manager who still harbours hopes of winning the Premier League and has the opportunity to take his side into the Champions League final.

He will be hoping to do something that eluded his illustrious predecessor Jose Mourinho and guide Chelsea past Liverpool and into the final.

As for the games themselves, I feel they will be pretty well identical to the previous encounters. Both teams play in a cautious style and I do not see maybe more than two or three goals over the two matches.

When it comes to a prediction, it is almost the toss of coin, although if I was pushed I would probably just go for Liverpool but it is too close to call.

[Skillz]

Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks is expected to arrive at Anfield a few hours before kick-off with a police escort due to the ill-feelings towards him amongst the Liverpool fan base. Merseyside police had expressed concern at his presence here tonight but Hicks will be taking his seat on the front row of the directors' box - he is already in the city. Representatives of DIC are also here tonight, police say although they are not in a position to discuss any individuals' safety, the safety of those attending has been reviewed."

For once I hope Sky are there

I want to see the police escort on TV everywhere.

[Joe King]

The Daily Telegraph's Henry Winter pinpoints the key battles which could go a long way towards deciding the outcome of Liverpool's latest Champions League semi-final showdown with Chelsea.



Pepe Reina v Petr Cech

It is difficult to see too much of Petr Cech nowadays, what with the face mask and helmet, but he is undeniably one of the best keepers in the world - but so is Pepe Reina, and if a close tie goes to penalties again, Liverpool should have the edge.

Ryan Babel v Juliano Belletti

If Rafa Benitez deploys Ryan Babel down the left, the Dutchman's speed may worry Juliano Belletti, who likes to push up but can caught out defensively. Babel has still to transfer the vibrant form he showed at the European Under-21s last summer on to the bigger stage. Now would be the perfect moment.

The central midfield battle

Two of the world's best holding midfielders will be on view. Claude Makelele is hailed as the man who invented the position (although Brazil's Dunga might disagree) yet for all the Frenchman's experience, Javier Mascherano is now the more influential, because of his stamina. Liverpool's Argentinian is unlikely to come into much contact with Makelele, as both do their work in front of their back-fours.

Steven Gerrard is more likely to encounter Makelele, particularly if Benitez fields his captain in the hole behind Fernando Torres. Makelele's job will be to stop the ball getting to Gerrard, and prevent him either building up steam and having a shot or slipping a pass through to Torres. In a tight game, one thunderbolt from Gerrard may prove vital.

Frank Lampard has broken away from his bedside vigil for his ill mother, and returned to Chelsea training, but his state of mind cannot be right for such an important game. If he plays, Lampard is likely to run into Mascherano, such a nimble sentry of the midfield battleground.

Torres v Chelsea defence

In attack for Liverpool, Torres' pace and touch are bound to alarm Chelsea, and it will be little surprise to see Ricardo Carvalho and John Terry sticking close to Liverpool's No 9. In a tie likely to contain few chances, Torres' predatory touch may be crucial.

Rafa Benitez v Avram Grant

In the dug-out, Rafa Benitez clearly inspires his players more than Avram Grant does, but Chelsea have so many strong players they are almost like a machine with little need for managerial direction. Benitez sets Liverpool up so cleverly in Europe, as foreign triumphs at Barcelona and Inter Milan have shown, changing tactics to outfox the opposition.

Grant is more predictable, using essentially a 4-3-3 formation with Didier Drogba or Nicolas Anelka as the target-man. Benitez will know Grant's game-plan. Grant may not know Benitez's.

The verdict

Even if the tie is unlikely to be a footballing classic, the occasion will be special, particularly at Anfield. The first leg hardly needed any more stoking up but the Kop are likely to enjoy the chance to reflect publicly on Grant's comments about wanting to take Gerrard to the Bridge.

The game is almost too close to call, with Chelsea determined to get revenge after the past two Champions League defeats to Liverpool. Even if the first leg is scoreless, Liverpool will fancy themselves to nick an away goal at the Bridge. The odds, though, are on a penalty shoot-out, which Liverpool look to have the keeper and the nerve to win.

[Pacman]

Just emptied my ass in the bog again.

Ass piss central.

[Joe King]

Fernando Torres has warned fans Liverpool's Champions League semi-final against Chelsea may not be easy on the eye.

The striker told Eurosport that a cagey, tactical game could be in store when the Blues visit Anfield.

"I think these are two very similar teams. Two teams very well organised tactically, who don't concede many goals," he said.

"That is what has happened in previous years. One went to penalties and the other had only one goal. These are matches with few goals, tactically very tight and which will be decided by a detail."

By contrast, he anticipates a free-flowing goalfest when Manchester United and Barcelona do battle, and thinks the Premier League leaders will take his fellow Spaniards by surprise.

"A lot of people will be surprised by the level of Manchester, even if they see highlights on the TV at the weekend," he said.

"I think that people in Spain will be surprised at their high level, and the level of [Cristiano] Ronaldo.

"They will be a very difficult team for Barcelona. But Manchester United struggle against teams that don't let them have the ball, and Barcelona like to have possession all the time.

"It is a very open semi-final, in which there will be a lot of goals - it's totally the opposite of ours.

"These are teams, like Arsenal, who love to have the ball, whose calling is to play with joy. In our semi-final will be a lot more tactical."

Torres has scored five goals in his first season in Europe's top competition, and will remember his strikes against Internazionale and Arsenal in the last 16 and quarter-finals most dearly.

"These matches are hard to forget. I wanted to play in the Champions League, I wanted to play in the biggest stadiums against the best teams. And I was lucky enough to play in the San Siro and to score, and to knock out Inter Milan," he said.

"And to score in the second leg against Arsenal; these are the moments that stay with you forever. It is what all players dream of, and what we hope to experience."

"It was in front of the Liverpool fans, in front of the Kop at Anfield, and that is always special for me. I scored a lot of goals this season, and these are the things that I will not forget for a long time."

[jonesie]

Just emptied my ass in the bog again.

Ass piss central.

Nice.

I'm off up to the ground then.

Best of luck everyone, stay strong.

[Neil Young]

Heres what Bolo Zenden had to say:

There is some history there but at the same time history and records are there to be broken.

'History is made to be broken.'

Joy Division records weren't made to be broken.