Capital One Cup: Chelsea V Liverpool Live: Who Will Seal Place At Wembley

Chelsea V Liverpool

Tuesday 27^th January. 7:45PM. Sky Sports 1

It’s advantage Chelsea after last week’s 1-1 draw at Anfield, but there is plenty of life left in this fascinating Capital One Cup semi-final.

Jose Mourinho’s men will feel confident heading into this crucial second-leg. However, Bradford proved that there are no guarantees in football and Liverpool will be equally optimistic heading into this battle.

It could be a classic.

Blues Favourites For Cup

The League Cup provided Mourinho with his first piece of silverware at Stamford Bridge and the Special One will be confident of repeating history in his second spell at Chelsea.

Last weekend’s astonishing defeat to Bradford will have angered the 52-year-old and he’ll demand a much better showing from his side against the Reds. This competition might not be a priority but it is a great chance to win a trophy and that extra incentive could be a huge factor in this massive semi-final.

The 1-1 away draw means that Chelsea certainly have the upper hand at Stamford Bridge and their star-studded squad will be determined to get one over their rivals. If the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic can control the midfield, then we should be set for a comfortable home win.

Chelsea picked a very strong XI in last week’s first-leg and we’d expect no different here. Expect the likes of Diego Costa to fire the Blues to another Wembley appearance.

Liverpool Out To Upset The Odds

Brendan Rodgers’ men might be on the ropes, but Raheem Sterling’s equaliser last Tuesday means that the Reds still possess a fighting chance and they’ll be eager to cause an upset at Stamford Bridge.

It has been a difficult campaign for the Anfield side but they are currently enjoying their best spell of the season and that momentum could serve them well in the capital.

Liverpool’s last win at Stamford Bridge came during their successful run to this trophy in 2011/12 and the remaining members of that cup-winning squad will look to use those memories to their advantage at Stamford Bridge. With the Blues still licking the wounds of Saturday’s loss to Bradford, the Reds certainly shouldn’t fear the Blues.

The odds are against Liverpool, but this is no Mission Impossible. Potentially, they could be just 90 minutes from salvaging their season.

Chelsea V Liverpool Betting

Quite predictably, the bookmakers have established Chelsea as the overwhelming favourites and are priced 8/13 to get the job completed in 90 minutes. Meanwhile the Reds are available at 5/1 while the draw can be backed at 16/5 – all prices courtesy of Bet365.

Saturday’s shock loss to Bradford will be a kick up the backside for Chelsea and we’d expect a massive response from the Blues, especially if Mourinho picks his first choice XI.

Mourinho will expect his side to come out all guns blazing and Liverpool could be set to face an early backlash. We’re not sure whether that vulnerable Reds defence will eb able to stand the heat.

HT/FT: Chelsea/Chelsea @ 31/20 with BetVictor

The real difference between these sides is that Chelsea boast a natural goalscorer and we think Diego Costa could be the match-winner again here.

Liverpool have failed to replace the goals vacated by Luis Suarez, whilst Costa’s goals have propelled Chelsea to the next level. Back the Spaniard to get amongst the goals once more at Stamford Bridge.

Diego Costa to score 2 or more goals @ 9/2 with Ladbrokes