Chelsea vs Liverpool

Wow, what a game! Liverpool stormed into a two goal lead to give them an improbable chance to win the tie and get to the semi-finals of the Champions League before Chelsea fought back, the game eventually ending 4-4 in a true feast of football.

While all football fans had much to savour last night, our tip of laying Chelsea also came good. If this season has taught us anything, it’s that Tom Allen’s tips should be given a great deal of respect.

It would be an almighty shock were Liverpool to turn around their quarter-final tie against Chelsea, the Blues are as short as 1.02 to progress, but I think they can make a decent fist of it despite the fact they are 3-1 down from the opening leg. A lay of the hosts, for whom even a 2-0 defeat will be good enough, looks the play.

It was hard not to be very impressed with he way that Guus Hiddink’s side stifled Liverpool last Wednesday, and Steven Gerrard in particular, before overpowering the hosts and they were full value for their away goals. Defensive vulnerabilities still exist however, as Bolton exposed at the weekend, and I expect Liverpool to find the net at Stamford Bridge.

Finding the net and being able to win by three clear goals are obviously worlds apart but even for a side as experienced as Chelsea it will be difficult to prepare mentally with such a sizeable advantage already in the bag and an early strike for the away team might just get the London club and their supporters on edge.

John Terry is absent through suspension but while he must sit on the sidelines England team-mate Gerrard looks set to win his fitness battle and it is imperative he lines up. Liverpool only have a small chance with their captain in the team but were he to be missing then that hope would all but disappear. It is impossible to stress just how important he is for the Anfield side and in the week marking the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster I cannot completely rule out the most dramatic comeback of all.

Michael Essien kept Gerrard very quiet indeed six days ago and while he is sure to be asked to perform a similar job once more it might be more testing for the midfielder this time around. Liverpool didn’t need to win first time up but that’s clearly very much the case now and 2.45 about a home win in the match odds market looks short.

It’s hard to forget just how ruthless Liverpool have been over the past few months and while they’ve often been trampling over far inferior opponents they have also defeated Manchester United and Real Madrid comprehensively since the turn of the year.