The Blues had an excellent weekend, demolishing Swansea City 5-0. Today, they could fuel their hopes of ending their season with one or more trophies. Jose Mourinho is relishing the challenge of taking part in this tie, a few days before engaging in another thrilling clash at home to the Citizens in the league. The experienced coach explained:
"Cup matches are always enjoyable, even when you are playing against a lower league side. Next week, we play the second leg (in the Capital One Cup) and then Manchester City at home, so it’s good."
Chelsea enter the clash with a slight advantage over the Merseyside rivals. The Londoners have beaten Liverpool 11 times in 26 meetings in all competitions. Today, the Reds could equal the Blues’ number of wins in the head-to-head.
Liverpool are 8-time League Cup champions and they finished as semi-finalists on three occasions – in 1979/80, 1985/86 and 1997/98. Chelsea have been less glorious in this tournament, winning only half of Liverpool’s titles tally and experiencing more semi-final disappointments (5).
For the Reds, things have started looking good under Brendan Rodgers, this season. Gerrard and company have not tasted defeat in any of their last seven games. They could stretch their unbeaten home run to seven matches and add to the eight goals they’ve netted in their last three encounters at Anfield.
Liverpool’s road to the 2014/15 League Cup semis
It’s been all about drama, starting with a nail-biting penalty shout-out against Middlesbrough in front of the Anfield home crowd. This was followed by a dramatic late comeback against Swansea City. Against Bournemouth in the Fifth Round, the Merseyside Reds were in a difficult situation as they had just lost heavily to Manchester United in the English Premier League. They needed a psychological boost and got it at the Dean Court.
• Third Round: Liverpool 2-2 (aet; 14-13 on pen.) Middlesbrough
• Fourth Round: Liverpool 2-1 Swansea City
• Fifth Round: AFC Bournemouth 1-3 Liverpool
Chelsea’s road to the 2014/15 League Cup semis
The Blues have imposed themselves well in this tournament. At each stage, they have done their homework to grab tickets for the next round. They can find confidence in their consistency and ability to control games effortlessly.
• Third Round: Chelsea 2-1 Bolton Wanderers
• Fourth Round: Shrewsbury Town 1-2 Chelsea
• Fifth Round: Derby County 1-3 Chelsea
The second leg of this Capital One Cup tie will take place at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, January 27, 2015. Get to know where to watch both fixtures thanks to LiveSoccerTV.com’s thoroughly researched live broadcast listings.
Liverpool vs Chelsea team sheets
Liverpool's lineup: Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Sakho, Lucas, Henderson, Gerrard, Moreno, Markovic, Coutinho, Sterling.
Chelsea's lineup: Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Filipe Luis; Matic, Mikel; Willian, Fabregas, Hazard; Diego Costa.
Liverpool's Subs: Ward, Enrique, Lambert, Manquillo, Lallana, Borini, Rossiter.
Chelsea's Subs: Cech, Zouma, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Oscar, Remy, Drogba.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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