Raheem Sterling will fancy his chances against the Chelsea defence... but Liverpool must watch out for silent assassin Oscar By Jamie Redknapp People say it’s only the Capital One Cup, but this could be one of the games of the season. There is a Wembley final at stake and the bigger picture to think about. If Chelsea win, they move on and can take a big step towards the title if they beat Man City on Saturday and a Liverpool win could inspire the rest of their season. HOW CHELSEA CAN WIN IT Jose Mourinho reverted to type at Anfield. It didn’t work. He loves being the underdog and tends to be more defensive in the big games, but playing Jon Obi Mikel as an extra midfield shield has not worked. This Chelsea team is just not built to play defensively. For Jose attack is definitely the best form of defence. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see Liverpool’s weakness is at the back, and I fully expect Mourinho to name his strongest team on Tuesday night. As we saw at Swansea, when they are let off the leash, they are almost unstoppable. HOW LIVERPOOL CAN WIN After letting in five at Spurs and four against Bradford, there will be doubts creeping into the minds of Chelsea players and fans alike. Liverpool must prey on that. They will have to be patient but their system caused Chelsea problems last week. Steven Gerrard was rested on Saturday so should start and I’d like to see him playing in an advanced role again. If he and Philippe Coutinho can keep Nemanja Matic occupied, then that might tempt John Terry or Gary Cahill to step out and deal with him, as our pitch map shows. If that happens, that leaves Raheem Sterling with a one-on-one situation. After the way he played last week, that is the last thing Chelsea will want. JOHN TERRY & GARY CAHILL v RAHEEM STERLING Sterling terrorised these two in the first leg and took his goal so well. He is one of the fastest players in the league and if Liverpool can get their main man driving at the heart of the Chelsea defence, then they are in with a real chance. NEMANJA MATIC v STEVEN GERRARD & PHILIPPE COUTINHO Matic is the solid foundation on which Chelsea build all their attacks, but he will not be getting much help from Cesc Fabregas. Matic can’t be in two places at once and if Liverpool’s midfield men can isolate him, they will be able to find spaces either side to try and open up their opponents. OSCAR v LUCAS He might not get praised like some of his team-mates, but Oscar is a silent assassin. If I were facing Chelsea, he is the one I would be most scared of. He sparks much of Chelsea’s best work and because of their forward players’ fluid movement, you can’t mark man for man. That’s why Lucas has such an important role.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 13:59:00 +0000
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