Another re-match in what has been the tightest in tight European ties is upon us. Chelsea club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician Paul Dutton review the facts and figures and look for some pointers towards tonight's outcome.

Rick sees both new and old challenges.


There is an argument (admittedly not a very powerful one) that Barnsley have as much right to contest this Champions League semi-final. After all, in the FA Cup they famously negated the so-called 'Anfield effect' to beat Liverpool, and in the quarter final at Oakwell they overcame Chelsea, currently the best away team in any European league.

But as we all know the Champions League is a million miles from coalmines and brass bands, and the FA Cup is neither club's main priority.

When we see the children shake the Uefa banner and hear the competition's hymn, we think of a higher plane of football. The music is based on Handel's 'Zadok The Priest', one of the adoptive Londoner's coronation anthems, written for George II in 1727 and sung at every crowning since: the kings of Europe (since 1993) as well as the latest British monarch.

Unfortunately it cannot be said that the four semi-final meetings in 2005 and 2007 between Chelsea and Liverpool have showcased football at its loftiest level. Each game has been like the sustained tensing of every muscle in the body. The dominant features have been the vice-tight defences of either side and the scarcity of clear opportunities, let alone goals.

If we throw in the 2005/6 group stage games too, 570 minutes of football between the two sides in this competition have produced just three goals to savour - or contest.

In some of the games injuries played a part in stripping Chelsea of vital offensive weapons, leaning José Mourinho to a more entrenched approach. In the second leg at Anfield in 2005, Chelsea's unstoppable widemen Damien Duff and Arjen Robben were both non-starters, and in the 2007 reprise Ricardo Carvalho's absence meant the in-form Michael Essien was removed from midfield. (The Ghanaian powerhouse is suspended for this game.)

In both cases - contrary to the Premier League form book - Chelsea failed to take sufficient advantage from dominating the first leg at the Bridge to the second at Anfield, and Rafael Benitez's counter attacking tactics prevailed.

We might agonise over late chances for Eidur Gudjohnsen or Didier Drogba at Anfield, but more damage should have been done at the Bridge.

This season, with the order of visits reversed, the dilemma facing Benitez, a naturally defensive manager, is how far to go in pressing for goals this evening before arriving at the Bridge, Chelsea's formidable home.

In 2005 and 2007 his lead forwards were Milan Baros and Peter Crouch respectively. Now, however, in Fernando Torres he has the season's most impressive striker. Torres's first goal for his new club came in the 1-1 draw at Anfield back in August, when he collected the ball, tricked Tal Ben-Haim and drove low past Petr Cech.

The Spaniard has scored five goals in this competition, one behind midfielder Steven Gerrard with whom he has developed an excellent understanding. Key to Chelsea's fortunes will be how well the midfield closes this as a source and whether Carvalho and John Terry shackle Torres, who missed the 0-0 league draw and Chelsea's 2-0 League Cup win, both at the Bridge.

Gerrard, who in 23 matches has actually scored as many goals for Chelsea as he has against us, figured only in the league game. (His own goal came in the 2005 League Cup final, and his one strike was in the Blues' 4-1 demolition job on Merseyside in October the same year. Frank Lampard has scored three against the Reds.)

How far those two have invented Liverpool's season by themselves is the subject of some discussion, but the performances of pacy one-footed winger Ryan Babel, midfield enforcer Javier Mascherano, Jamie Carragher and the much-criticised grafter Dirk Kuyt have been vital in this competition.

Benitez has already suggested that the second leg being at Stamford Bridge has altered his thinking, but recent wins over Inter and Arsenal provide some hints as to how the Spanish manager will set up his side. The Serie A side, though, offered a more formidable defence (even with their two first choice centre-backs missing) than the Gunners and are probably closer to way he views Chelsea.

Having recently been humiliated by Barnsley, Liverpool's approach in the first leg at Anfield was to attack the Italians with a very high tempo pressing game. Kuyt was used to harry in midfield and Mascherano and Gerrard looked for quick through balls to exploit the pace of Babel and Torres against uncomfortable defenders. Inter found it hard to cope with the pace and power, especially after Marco Materazzi's 31-minute dismissal.

The storm abated against the ten men, though, and Liverpool's clean sheet instinct took over until just past the hour when Benitez's siege weapon, Peter Crouch, trundled on and Inter acted like the Romans when they first viewed Hannibal's elephants.

The 2-0 scoreline at Anfield made the performance at San Siro a simple Liverpool shut-out, but Torres's brilliance provides an arrow point that gives it another dimension, and the Reds won 1-0.

Arsenal's strengths lay elsewhere to defence, and Benitez, knowing the Gunners were capable of scoring home and away, aimed to stifle their fluent passing in possession. The fortune of a penalty not being awarded against Kuyt, and of several goalline clearances (not least one by Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner from Cesc Fabregas's shot) didn't invalidate Benitez's favouring of the counter attacking style when the result was 1-1.

In the second leg on Merseyside Liverpool earned a 4-2 win (5-3 on aggregate) despite having their defence ripped to pieces in the opening minutes by Arsenal's pace and incisiveness. Sami Hyypia equalised from a corner, prompting all-out attack from both sides. Somehow, with the Premier League's second and third meanest defences on show, it's difficult to imagine the same happening tonight.

The Reds have missed key defender Daniel Agger for long periods and Carragher has been used at right-back over Finnan in some European games. They have endured problems defending set-pieces recently and that is something Chelsea will look to exploit.

After last season's depressing defeat on penalties at the same stage, José Mourinho suggested that the Champions League would assume a new prominence in the Chelsea thinking.

'Winning is a habit, winning is culture' he said. 'I just feel the last step is to take this feeling, or this little bit of luck, to European competition.' Unlike the Premier League, the destination of this trophy is in the Blues' hands.

Remarkably, this is the fourth time in five years that Chelsea have competed at this stage, but the only other occasion we played the second leg at Stamford Bridge - against Monaco in 2004 - was virtually lost in the away leg. Six of those who figured in those matches are still with the club. Some may never have another shot at reaching the final.

You sense that the lessons from that occasion, as well as Anfield in 2005 and 2007, have been learned.


LIVERPOOL V CHELSEA - Paul Dutton sets out his semi-final statistical stall.

Chelsea and Liverpool meet for an astonishing 19th occasion since October 2004 and the arrival to Liverpool of Rafael Benítez.

Steven Gerrard has played 23 games against Chelsea in all competitions and scored one goal (Oct 2005, Anfield, Chelsea won 4-1). He has won seven, drawn six and lost 10, Liverpool goals 17, Chelsea goals 28. He scored an own goal in the League Cup Final in 2005 and was sent off at Stamford Bridge in the 'Champions League play off' game at Stamford Bridge in May 2003.

It is also the fourth consecutive season and third in the semi-final we have met the Reds in this competition. Only three goals have been scored in our previous six Champions League meetings.
2004/05
Apr 27 2005 (SF 1) Chelsea 0 Liverpool 0
May 3 2005 (SF 2) Liverpool 1 (Luis Garcia) Chelsea 0
What happened next: Liverpool beat AC Milan 3-2 on penalties in the final in Istanbul after a 3-3 draw after extra time.
2005/06
Sep 28 2005 (Group) Liverpool 0 Chelsea 0
Dec 6 2005 (Group) Chelsea 0 Liverpool 0
What happened next: Both Chelsea and Liverpool were knocked out in the last 16 to Barcelona and Benfica.
2006/07
Apr 25 2007 (SF 1) Chelsea 1 (J Cole) Liverpool 0
May 1 2007 (SF 2) Liverpool 1 (Agger) Chelsea 0 (Liverpool won 4-1 on penalties aet.)
What happened next: Liverpool lost 2-1 to AC Milan in the final in Athens.

Liverpool have won 11 of their 14 previous European semi-finals. Two of their three defeats at this stage came when the second leg was away. They have won the European Cup/Champions League on five occasions in 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984 and 2005 as well as the Uefa Cup and Super Cup three times each.

Chelsea v English teams in Europe (excluding Liverpool)
1970/71 Cup-Winners' Cup semi-final Man City (h) W 1-0, (a) W 1-0
2003/04 Champions League quarter-final Arsenal (h) D 1-1, (a) W 2-1

Liverpool v English teams in Europe (excluding Chelsea)
1970/71 Fairs Cup semi-final Leeds Utd (h) L 0-1, (a) D 0-0
1972/73 UEFA Cup semi-final Tottenham (h) W 1-0, (a) L 1-2 (won on away goals)
1978/79 European Cup Rd 1 Nottingham Forest (a) L 0-2, (h) D 0-0
2007/08 Champions League quarter-final Arsenal (a) D 1-1, (h) W 4-2

Chelsea have appeared in eight previous European semi-finals and are looking to reach our first Champions League final following defeats against Monaco in 2004 and Liverpool in 2005 and 2007. On the two occasions we progressed to the final we won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1971 and 1998.

Liverpool's last five years in Europe
2002/03 UEFA Cup - quarter-finals (having transferred from the Champions League, group stage)
2003/04 UEFA Cup - fourth round
2004/05 Champions League - winners
2005/06 Champions League - round of 16
2006/07 Champions League - runners-up

Liverpool's European Cup / Champions League record is played 155, won 90, drawn 33, lost 32.

The Reds have won their last eight games at Anfield in all competitions scoring 22 goals and conceding six.

Only Birmingham, Marseille and Man Utd have kept a clean sheet at Anfield this season.

Liverpool's last six games
Mar 30 Everton (h) W 1-0
Apr 2 Arsenal (CL a) D 1-1
Apr 5 Arsenal (a) D 1-1
Apr 8 Arsenal (CL h) W 4-2
Apr 13 Blackburn (h) W 3-1
Apr 19 Fulham (a) W 2-0

Rafael Benítez rested Gerrard and Torres in preparation for our game but still beat relegation threatened Fulham 2-0 on Saturday. Pennant and Crouch scored one in each half. Team: Reina; Finnan, Skrtel, Hyypia (c) (Carragher 46), Riise; Pennant, Lucas, Mascherano (Alonso 72), Benayoun; Voronin (Aurelio 82); Crouch.

Liverpool entered this season's Champions League at the third qualifying round. They finished second in Group A with 10 points, one behind Porto.

Third qualifying round
Aug 15 Toulouse (a) W 1-0
Aug 28 Toulouse (h) W 4-0

Group A results
Sep 18 Porto (a) D 1-1
Oct 3 Marseille (h) L 0-1
Oct 24 Besiktas (a) L 1-2
Nov 6 Besiktas (h) W 8-0
Nov 28 Porto (h) W 4-1
Dec 12 Marseille (a) W 4-0

Round of 16
Feb 19 Inter (h) W 2-0
Mar 11 Inter (a) W 1-0

Quarter-final
Apr 2 Arsenal (a) D 1-1
Apr 8 Arsenal (h) W 4-2

Appearances (excluding qualifying games)
Carragher 10, Gerrard 10, Hyypia 10, Reina 10, Mascherano 9, Torres 8, Kuyt 7+2, Babel 6+3, Aurelio 6+2, Finnan 5, Benayoun 4+3, Arbeloa 4+1, Crouch 3+3, Riise 3+3, Voronin 3+3, Skrtel 3, Lucas 2+4, Pennant 2+2, Alonso 2, Kewell 1+2, Leto 1, Sissoko (now Juventus) 1.

Goals
Gerrard 6 (2 pens), Torres 5, Babel 4, Kuyt 4, Benayoun 3, Crouch 3, Hyypia 1.

Liverpool have played 54 games in all competitions winning 31, losing eight and drawing 15. They have scored 111 goals, conceded 44, have kept 23 clean sheets and failed to score 10 times.

Chelsea's overall record in European competition is played 140, won 75, drawn 36, lost 29. This is our 11th season in succession in Europe.

Of the semi-finalists, Chelsea have conceded the fewest goals in this year's competition with four in just over 15 hours.

We have been beaten five times (Man Utd away, Arsenal away, Tottenham at Wembley, Barnsley away and Fenerbahçe away) in 48 games in all competitions under Avram Grant three of which have come in the last 14.

Chelsea have played 56 games in all competitions winning 36, drawing 14 and losing six. We have scored 96 goals, conceded 38 and have kept 31 clean sheets. We have failed to score on 10 occasions.

In our sixth appearance in the Champions League, we maintained our record of always qualifying for the knockout rounds and for the fifth time in six attempts finished as group winners. We were semi-finalists in 2003/04, 2004/05 and 2006/07, quarter-finalists in 1999/2000 and reached the last 16 in 2005/06.

Our Champions League results are as follows:
Sep 18 Rosenborg (h) D 1-1
Oct 3 Valencia (a) W 2-1
Oct 24 Schalke (h) W 2-0
Nov 6 Schalke (a) D 0-0
Nov 28 Rosenborg (a) W 4-0
Dec 11 Valencia (h) D 0-0
Feb 19 Olympiacos (Rd of 16 a) D 0-0
Mar 5 Olympiacos (Rd of 16 h) W 3-0
Apr 2 Fenerbahçe (QF a) L 1-2
Apr 8 Fenerbahçe (QF h) W 2-0

Appearances J Cole 9+1, Essien 9+1, Makelele 9+1, Drogba 8, Lampard 7+1, Carvalho 7, A Cole 7, Terry 7, Malouda 6+2, Cech 6, Alex 5+1, Kalou 4+4, Belletti 4+2, Cudicini 4+1, Ballack 4, Ferreira 4, Bridge 3, Wright-Phillips 2+3, Shevchenko 2+2, Mikel 1+3, Ben-Haim 1+1, Pizarro 1+1, Anelka 0+2, Hilário 0+1, Sidwell 0+1.

Goals Drogba 4, Ballack 2, J Cole 2, Lampard 2, Alex 1, Kalou 1, Malouda 1, Shevchenko 1, own goal 1 (Deivid, Fenerbahce)

Chelsea have won three (Valencia twice and Rosenborg) and lost three (Werder Bremen, Liverpool and Fenerbahçe) of our last 10 away Champions League games. The draws were against Barcelona, Porto, Schalke and Olympiacos.

Chelsea have played 68 games in the Champions League proper (excluding qualifying games). We have won 34, drawn 19 and lost 15.

Uefa Champions League statistics
Top scorers
Ronaldo (Man Utd) 7, Gerrard (Liverpool) 6, Messi (Barcelona) 6, Deivid (Fenerbahçe) 5, Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan) 5, Kanouté (Sevilla) 5, Raul (Real Madrid) 5, Torres (Liverpool) 5.

Shots on target
Juninho (Lyon) 18, Drogba (Chelsea) 17, Ronaldo (Man Utd) 17, Cardozo (Benfica) 16, Messi (Barcelona) 14.

Shots off target
Quaresma (Porto) 16, Drogba (Chelsea) 15, Kanouté (Sevilla) 15, Gerrard (Liverpool) 14, Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan) 14, Ronaldo (Man Utd) 14.

Nicolas Anelka will be returning to his old club where he played the second half of the 2001/02 season on loan from Paris St Germain.

If selected, Frank Lampard will make his 50th Champions League start for Chelsea (excluding qualifying rounds).

Congratulations to John Mikel Obi who celebrates his 21st birthday on the day of the game.

The referee is Konrad Plautz, an Austrian. He took charge of Chelsea's 0-0 draw with Olympiakos in Greece, booking four of the Blues, as well as Liverpool's home defeat by Marseille, in which he yellow carded three Reds.

Michael Essien is suspended, as he was in last season's semi-final first leg against Liverpool, for accumulating three yellow cards. No player is suspended for Liverpool however if Fabio Aurelio, Jamie Carragher or Steven Gerrard are booked tonight they will be suspended for the second leg at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea have eight players on one yellow card and none on two.

Chelsea's overall record against Liverpool in all competitions is: played 150, won 52, drawn 31, lost 67.

Our Anfield record in all competitions is: played 73, won 10, drawn 15, lost 48.