Old boys ready for rearguard action

Whatever else Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC might produce when they conclude their UEFA Champions League semi-final, it is unlikely they will give us a glut of goals.

'Cancel each other out'
The seven previous contests between the Premier League rivals in the competition have produced an average of 0.7 goals per game and the message from former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson is that we should expect more of the same on Wednesday night. "Chelsea and Liverpool completely cancel each other out," he told uefa.com. "The first leg was probably the game with the most chances for a long, long time between the two of them and there weren't many. I don't think your 'match-winners' will win between Liverpool and Chelsea; it is the team who makes fewer mistakes."

Philosophies
The 1-1 first-leg draw at Anfield was the highest-scoring game between the teams in the UEFA Champions League – the previous six had yielded just three goals – and Lawrenson, a European champion with Liverpool in 1984, said the tight nature of these encounters was inevitable given the attitude of the managers involved. "If you look at both managers, the philosophy of football is they are both steady – [Rafael] Benítez and [Avram] Grant, their glass is always half-empty, it is never half-full. You are either an attack-minded manager or a defensive one and they are the latter."

More positive
Liverpool may have to alter their usual approach, however, given their need for an away goal at a ground where they have not found the net in eight previous visits under Benítez. Lawrenson believes they will get one too. "I can see 1-1 at Stamford Bridge," he said. "There is no bias in that – Chelsea aren't playing well at the moment. I can see Liverpool scoring."

'Liverpool will have a go'
He is not alone in expecting the Merseysiders to pose a greater attacking threat, with former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin telling uefa.com that he expected a livelier affair than the teams' most recent meeting at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League, which finished 0-0 in February. "I was at the last game at the Bridge between Liverpool and Chelsea and I stayed awake for most of it," he joked. "It was one of the most boring games I have ever seen. The two best players were the two central midfielders but it won't be like that this time, because Liverpool will have a go."

Čech key
Nevin, who spent five years at Chelsea in the 1980s, considers the Londoners slight favourites to advance to the final in Moscow, basing his assessment on their excellence in defence. The former Scottish international cites the importance of goalkeeper Petr Čech and defender Ricardo Carvalho, both of whom made key contributions at Anfield – Čech with saves from Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard and Carvalho with his lightning-quick covering at the back.

'Good chance'
"I will go for Chelsea because Čech is fit and Carvalho is fit," said Nevin. "Carvalho is the best defender for me in the world at the moment. His reading of the game, his tackling, the timing is amazingly good. I remember a couple of times at Anfield where he came across to cover John Terry. You don't realise how fast he is. He has got virtually everything in his game. The fact they have that core defensively and that Michael Essien will be back from suspension means Chelsea have a good chance."