Peter Crouch meets Michael Essien
Liverpool should throw caution to the winds. They need to get adventurous. Chelsea is coming from a gut wrencher weekend with Bolton and their confidence levels should be fairly low.
The best news for Liverpool is that Ricardo Carvalho, Chelsea’s central defender is out and so the Reds can set Peter Crouch and his 6′ 7″ frame upon the Blues to win the aerial battle. Michael Essien who gives up many inches has the onerous task of defending Crouch. The danger is that it will reduce the Reds to the one option. Mourinho would love that.
To keep the Crouch threat real, the Reds need to go to the ground game with Bellamy or Kuyt running with speed. Gerrard and Alonso should unleash some of those 40 yard piledrivers to keep Cech and the Chelsea defense guessing. Alonso needs to get more aggressive than he was in the first leg and move up front to create chances with those neat little crosses and exploit the gaps.
In attack it is unfortunately not Didier Drogba who is injured but Shevchenko, doubtful for tomorrow’s game. So who polices Drogba? My answer is Daniel Agger, who is speedier and stronger in the air than Jamie Carragher. The key is to cut off the supply to Drogba because once he gets the ball, he is a phenomenon. And someone should keep an eye on the industrious Joe Cole. He can be a handful down the left flank.
The Kop has the most passionate fans in the league and they should make Chelsea’s journey to Anfield very interesting.
Prediction: Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0. Liverpool enters the CL final on aggregate.
Soccer fans: You know where to go to see the game on the sly