Chelsea v Liverpool: Premier League – live!

20 min: Shaun Wilkinson writes: “Do you think Klopp calling this ‘a semi-final’ was an attempt at some kind of Jedi mind trick? Liverpool haven’t won the league in nearly 30 years, but have won a ton of cups in that time. Does he think the way to finally win the league is to hypnotise his players into believing every league game is actually a cup game?” Maybe Derren Brown will be brought in to the coaching setup to replace Buvac.

18 min: Kante shows his value in midfield by tracking Mane half the length of the pitch before sliding in to halt a Liverpool counter-attack. Mane did dawdle on the ball somewhat after an unnecessary stepover though.

17 min: Alonso stings Karius’s palms from 20 yards with a sweetly struck shot. This is better from Chelsea. The chance came after Alexander-Arnold got caught out of position after trying to cover for Clyne.

15 min: Moses cuts the ball back on the right in Chelsea’s first proper attack. With the chance to fire at goal from the penalty spot both Bakayoko and Giroud get in each other’s way. Giroud is furious. Liverpool break but nothing comes of the counter-attack.

13 min: Chelsea just can’t get going. They’ve been sloppy in possession when they reached Liverpool’s half. You would think Chelsea had been the team who had played in an energy-sapping semi-final in midweek, not Liverpool. Giroud is caught late by Clyne. He lets out a huge shriek as the Liverpool full-back’s studs land on the top of his foot. That could have been a booking too. Giroud’s OK though.

10 min: Firmino breaks clear and tries to release Salah behind the Chelsea defence but his pass is either underhit or holds up on the turf. Another dry pitch? Klopp would love that. And then Milner clatters into Hazard and is lucky to escape a booking. He slid right through him late there.

8 min: Clyne and Alexander-Arnold trade passes on the right and the youngster whips a ball in to the back post but it’s too deep. Chelsea are playing like a team who need a point here. They need a win. They seem very happy for Liverpool to have the ball. Late smash-and-grab tactics?

6 min: Chelsea just can’t get into this game at the moment. Liverpool look extremely comfortable in possession. Taking their time as they move forwards. Chelsea are very compact though. Space isn’t easy to find when Liverpool get into the final third.

4 min: Alexander-Arnold curls the ball round the back of the Chelsea defence for Firmino to run on to. It’s a lovely ball. Firmino gets a yard on Cahill and then rifles a shot from 15 yards at Courtois, who parries and then smothers at the second attempt. This has been a strong start by Liverpool.

2 min: Liverpool enjoy a bit of early possession, knocking the ball around at the back under very little pressure and then into midfield. I’m not sure Chelsea have had a touch yet.

1 min: Peep! We’re off. Liverpool get the game under way. They are shooting from left to right on my TV. Chelsea are going the other way.

There is a minute’s applause for Roy Bentley, the former Chelsea captain, who died recently at the age of 93. He played over 300 games for Chelsea.

The teams are out. Chelsea in blue and Liverpool in red, as it should be. And it’s a lovely, warm spring day at Stamford Bridge. Perfect.

It’s almost time for kick-off. For some reason Mike Buffer, the boxing announcer, has just been warbling a rally-cry on the sidelines. Pipe down Mike.

Antonio Conte speaks: “We are trying to fight until the end to get a place in the Champions League. We won the last three games and we have only one option – to win and to keep the hope alive. But it won;t be easy because we know the situation is not in our hands. We know very well if we don;t win today this race is finished.

On coping with Liverpool’s attack, Conte says: “We are talking about a team who, if they have space, they are very good. We must be very compact. With the ball, we must try to be dangerous.” On not selecting Morata he says he is injured but he should be back for the next game.

Jurgen Klopp speaks about this match: “It’s a semi-final[*]. Unfortunately how it is we have a strong opponent and we have a big job to do. Chelsea are a good side. It will be hard work.” On how his team will be physically after their efforts in Rome. “I hope we are 100%. Big decisions are always made at the end of the season. If we want to perform we have to deal with that. Wednesday-Sunday (recovery) is really OK.” *It’s not a semi-final.

The awful news that Alex Ferguson suffered a brain hemorrhage yesterday has shocked many this weekend. Jurgen Klopp has just been speaking about the former Manchester United manager’s huge standing in the game. “He was one of the biggest role models in this business. It was a big shock. From what I have heard – and I don’t know any more than anybody else – it looks like he is on his way to recovery but we all want to send our best wishes to Alex from LFC.” The Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte, echoed Klopp’s comments wishing Ferguson a speedy recovery.

And our chief football correspondent, Daniel Taylor, has written this fine piece about Ferguson. Get well soon Alex.

Mohamed Salah will need four goals from Liverpool’s three remaining matches to equal Ian Rush’s record haul of 47 in the 1983-84 season. Rush reached that magnificent figure in 65 games. Salah has scored 43 in 50 so far for Liverpool. Incredible.

So two strong teams then, with Liverpool fielding their usual front three and only resting one player in midfield, with Trent Alexander-Arnold moving into the middle to take the place of Jordan Henderson, and Nathaniel Clyne coming in at right-back.