It’s AC Milan Vs. Liverpool again in this year’s Champions League Final. To celebrate Liverpool’s magnificent achievement of reaching their second Champions League Final in three years and 5th final in three years I’m having a week long build up.

Lets kick things off with a reminder of what happened in the semi-final…

It’s the final day of the 2006/2007 Premiership season and Liverpool are hosting Charlton. The title has gone to Manchester United, Chelsea have wrapped up second spot and with it the second automatic qualification place for the Champions League. You’d think there was nothing to play for.

Liverpool’s game against Charlton is far from a meaningless occasion. Charlton are already relegated but teams down the bottom of the table have a habit of winning the first game after relegation. For Liverpool a win will guarantee 3rd place, although they only need to match Arsenal’s result at Portsmouth to do that. It’s the Champions League Final that is on everyone’s mind at Anfield and whatever 11 players take to the field today will know that they are playing for a chance to make the Final team.I expect Rafa to pick a full strength side that is more-or-less his team for Athens. Reina, Carragher and Gerrard are certainties for the Athens line-up and I would say Finnan, Agger, Riise, Kuyt and Crouch are all but in the 11 too. At the moment Mascherano is the front runner to partner Gerrard in midfield but today’s game will help to decide that for Benitez.

Will Pennant do enough to justify starting on the right or will it be Gerrard who plays there? Will it be Alonso or Sissoko to come into the centre? Or both? What will Rafa do about left-midfield? Can Bellamy show something to force his way into the team?

Despite the interest that all these questions bring to the game and the hope that the players will be able to focus enough to cement 3rd place all these things are over shadowed by the fact that history will be made. For the last time ever two Liverpool legends will walk out onto the hallowed turf of Anfield as Liverpool players. It is the end of the line for Jerzy Dudek and Robbie Fowler.

Some may question my use of the term legend with regard to Dudek, but having been in Istanbul to witness his double save in extra-time and his penalty heroics, I have no reservations in saying he is a legend. Nobody can question the status of Fowler. From the 4 minute hat-trick to the perfect hat-trick the following year, the list goes on and on.

I will be sad to see them both leave but it is the right time for both players. That injury may prevent Dudek from playing in the game is a cruel and unjustified blow, but Fowler will start and Fowler will score.

Thanks for the memories!

Sissoko is injured for this game and will not play. Garcia and Aurelio are still out. Dudek is a doubt but I think he’ll play.

Liverpool to win 4-0!

There comes a time in everyone’s life when they must stand up and be counted. For some it is a major event that changes the World we live in, for others it can be as simple as telling someone they love them. These moments do not come along every day but when they do come along they must be grasped as they are life changing events. For Rafael Benitez and his international scousers tonight is one of those events. Tonight Liverpool host Chelsea and fight it out for a place in the final of the UEFA Champions League!

It’s advantage Chelsea as we head into the first of the second legs in this season’s semi-finals. Joe Cole was once again the thorn in Liverpool’s side when he was on hand to reap the rewards of Drogba’s hard work. Despite Mourinho’s insistence that Liverpool had the better preparation for the first leg it was his own men who came out of the blocks fastest. The first half was all Chelsea as Liverpool looked like a team who hadn’t played a seriously competitive game since the first PSV game three weeks beforehand. At half time Liverpool had Reina to thank for keeping it to only 1 goal.

The second half was a different story though as Liverpool started to play their game again and when Mourinho took Shevchenko off and Carragher switched to marking Drogba, Chelsea were less effective. Tonight Liverpool will need more of that second half display and none of the first.

The news that Carvalho and Shevchenko are out of tonight’s squad is a major boost to Liverpool’s tactical approach. Although Mourinho is prone to mind games and it can’t be believed until the teams are announced, it does seem as if these two will not feature. This means that Carragher can mark Drogba from the kick-off and that Essien will have to play centre-back. Essien is not as good a defender as Carvalho and struggled to handle Peter Crouch in the league game at Anfield. He will also be missed in the midfield where Chelsea are becoming more and more reliant on his drive. It’s not all good news for Liverpool though as Robben looks set to return to the squad.

While Chelsea’s absentees mean their team all but picks itself the big question for Benitez is what midfield to play. Mascherano has looked very good since he joined Liverpool but he struggled in the first leg and despite Sissoko’s recent dip in form these are the kind of games he relishes. I feel we missed Sissoko’s ‘destroyer’ approach in Stamford Bridge and so would be happier to see him play tonight.

Steven Gerrard must give a big performance tonight and even though it would be his first against Chelsea I think he’ll produce. I would play him off the lone striker as I think he is most dangerous playing there and that Liverpool could get at Chelsea better if they play two wide-men. The return to fitness of Steve Finnan gives Benitez the option of playing Riise on the left-wing with Arbeloa at left-back.

Probable line-ups;

Cech
Ferreira Terry Essien Cole
Lampard Makelele Mikel
Kalou Drogba Cole
with Cudichini, Boulahrouz, Bridge, Diara, Wright-Phillips, Geremi, and Robben on the bench.

So the task is simple, beat Chelsea by two goals and Liverpool go through. Beat them by 1-0 and it’s extra-time and penalties. Any other result puts Chelsea through. I believe Liverpool can keep a clean-sheet but Chelsea are more than capable of scoring. I can’t see them scoring more than 1 and I know this Liverpool team can score 3 if they have to. I don’t think it’ll come to that though. I’m predicting the ultimate in drama and excitement. Liverpool to win 1-0 with Chelsea coming close on several occasions near the end of the 90 minutes and throughout extra-time. I’m saying Liverpool will win on penalties!

The atmosphere is going to be like nothing you have ever witnessed before. Make sure you tune in!

The game is live on RTÉ 2. Kick-off 19:45.

It’s the semi-final stage of a competition Liverpool can win so it must be Chelsea again!

Since the summer of 2004, when Rafael Benitez took over as Liverpool manager and Jose Mourinho took over as Chelsea manager, the two have come face to face 5 times a season. As each team plays each other twice in the Premiership they should only be facing each other twice a year!

In the 2004/05 season they met twice in the league - with Chelsea winning both games, and the League Cup Final - with Chelsea again taking the spoils, before Liverpool finally beat Chelsea at the semi-final stage of the Champions League with Liverpool going on to lift the trophy. The 2005/06 season was more of the same. Chelsea won both league meetings, the teams met again in the Champions League group stages - both games ending 0-0, and Liverpool knocked Chelsea out of the FA Cup at the semi-final stage before going on to win that cup too.

This season has been more in Liverpool’s favour. It opened with Liverpool beating Chelsea to lift the Community Shield, then came a defeat to Chelsea in Stamford Bridge before a long awaited league victory in Anfield. It’s semi-final time again in the Champions League and the “luck” of the draw has paired Liverpool and Chelsea together for the third successive season.

Can Chelsea get a long awaited Champions League victory over Liverpool or is it to be more of the same for Benitez’s men? The answer, my friends, lies in the bold statement I made back when the draw was made. This is Liverpool’s year!

The tactical battle will be key in this tie as both teams must know each other by now. From Chelsea’s point of view the return to fitness of Joe Cole is all important. He not only has a good record against Liverpool but it allows Mourinho to return to his favoured 4-3-3 formation. Benitez has played 4-4-2 most of this season but he has toyed with the 4-5-1 that brought him success in 2005 recently and the team have shown they still know how to play it. Despite the rumoured injury concerns I don’t expect either side to be missing any key players, although Michael Essien is suspended for tonights leg.

Despite all the similarities to the 2005 tie, this is a very different encounter. This Chelsea team isn’t as confident/arrogant as the one that got knocked out back then. This Liverpool team is more confident than the one that won that tie and has shown the ability and character to win in Europe no matter what the level of opposition. I expect Liverpool to win this tie and I expect Liverpool to win the first leg in Stamford Bridge tonight.

A betting man should back John Arne Riise tonight after his goal in Barcelona was followed by his goal in Eindhoven. 1-0 Liverpool victory I’d say.

German referee Markus Merk will take charge of proceedings.

The game is live on Sky Sports 1 and RTÉ 2. Kick-off at 19:45.

I saw this on another website and thought it was hilarious. Thanks kop1974!

The guy who sits next to me at work was showing me this book he bought for his son on Greek Myths. I turned round and said

‘Do you want to hear another Greek Myth?’
He said ‘Sorry?’

My response: ‘Man Utd winning the Champions League in Athens.’

I’ve tipped them to make the final (and loose of course) but it’s looking like AC Milan right now. There’s something about United this season though that makes them hang in there. We’ll see.

You can see the game live on RTÉ 2 at 19:45 this evening. Enjoy!