International edge to English affair

By Andrew Haslam

The UEFA Champions League semi-final between Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC brings together two teams that know each other inside out, having already met twice in this season's Premiership and contested the English League Cup final. Aside from the familiarity these three encounters have bred, however, the two matches will bring a number of international team-mates into direct opposition.

Chelsea victories
With Chelsea having edged both league meetings, Joe Cole scoring the only goal on each occasion, and also lifting the League Cup after a 3-2 extra-time victory, Liverpool will be especially determined to prevail on this occasion. Captain Steven Gerrard has long been an inspirational presence in the Reds midfield while fellow English international Frank Lampard has been a virtual ever-present for Chelsea over the past few seasons, becoming crucial to the London club's fortunes.

Pivotal duel
Both are pivotal figures for their teams, and the outcome of their duel could well determine which side emerges triumphant. Unusually, though, neither player has enjoyed the best of times against their respective semi-final opponents. Lampard, who has scored 30 league goals in four campaigns at Stamford Bridge, has managed just one career strike against Liverpool – as a West Ham United FC player in February 1999. Gerrard, meanwhile, was dismissed in Liverpool's league defeat by Chelsea at the end of 2002/03, and inadvertently scored Chelsea's equaliser in February's League Cup final.

Irish affair
Elsewhere, one of the tie's key confrontations will take place down the Chelsea left, where Republic of Ireland winger Damien Duff comes up against Steve Finnan. The pair were components of the Ireland team that reached the last 16 of the 2002 FIFA World Cup and, with Duff having scored six league goals and found the net against FC Porto in the Champions League, Liverpool right-back Finnan will have to be alert to nullify his countryman's threat.

French force
At the other end, Liverpool striker Djibril Cissé returned from a potentially career-threatening broken leg suffered in October to appear in the quarter-final second leg against Juventus FC. The €21m signing could feature from the start against José Mourinho's side but is likely to have to find a way past France team-mate William Gallas, who has replaced Wayne Bridge as left-back in the Chelsea defence.

Cech challenge
With Fernando Morientes ineligible, Milan Baroš has spearheaded the Liverpool attack in this season's Champions League and will be seeking his first goal against Chelsea. To do that, however, he will have to negotiate Czech Republic colleague Petr Cech, who has been a near-impregnable figure in the Chelsea goal this term, conceding just eleven Premiership goals - although the 22-year-old has proved slightly less imposing in the Champions League having been beaten 12 times in nine matches.

Familiar faces
Robert Huth was used at right-back by Mourinho in the quarter-final second leg against FC Bayern München, but his hopes of bumping into fellow German international Dietmar Hamann have been dashed by injury to the Liverpool midfielder. However, Chelsea's Finnish forward Mikael Forssell recently returned from a lengthy lay-off and, should he play, national-team colleague and Liverpool centre-half Sami Hyypiä will know what to expect.

Insider dealings
In a game in which the two sides know each other so well, any advantage that can be gleaned from inside knowledge is sure to be eagerly seized upon by Mourinho and Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez. Such narrow margins could well prove decisive as the teams battle for a place in the Istanbul final on 25 May.