Chelsea vs Liverpool - VCBet analysis

Jose Mourinho's Chelsea are primed to build up a first leg lead when they play Liverpool in their opening Champions League semi-final encounter on Wednesday. That's the call from VC Bet's football judge Nick Blezard who believes that Chelsea's wide men will have the measure of the Liverpool full-backs at Stamford Bridge. "The key to victory in the first leg will be Damien Duff's and Joe Cole's battle with Djimi Traore and Steve Finnan," said Blezard. "I expect them to put the Liverpool pair under enormous pressure and I'm not sure Finnan and Traore will be able to hold firm for 90 minutes." That said, Blezard expects Liverpool to cause Chelsea problems of their own, with a fit-again Djibril Cisse a key man for the Merseysiders. "Chelsea's main aim will be to put the tie out of reach and if they can subdue the threat of Djibril Cisse they will go a long way to doing just that. "But Cisse was a real handful for Liverpool against Juventus when he came on as a substitute in the final stages and there's no doubting the Chelsea defence will need to be on their toes. "Liverpool are a real Jekyll and Hyde team, playing some great football in Europe but not transferring that to the English Premiership and if they can win this Champions League trophy the groans from the blue side of Merseyside will echo around the city like Krakatoa. "Sami Hyypia looks a class player again after his rest and with the added fact that he is a goal threat he is a great player to have in your team." "For me it's 2-1 Chelsea with Didier Droghba scoring first."