2119: A change for Liverpool. Xabi Alonso replaces Jermaine Pennant. Steven Gerrard moves to the right flank.

2118: Claude Makelele races forward. He picks the wrong pass and Didier Drogba is caught on his heels.

2117: Ashley Cole puts the after-burners on and races away from Jermaine Pennant. He powers a low cross to the near post but Jamie Carragher takes it off Didier Drogba's toes at the last possible moment. It should be a corner to Chelsea. It is a goal-kick to Liverpool.

2116: A shake of the head from Jose Mourinho. He is not happy. Time to make a change? He needs a goals and has fleet-footed wingers Shaun Wright-Phillips and Arjen Robben on the bench.

2115: Chelsea have corner. Peter Crouch easily heads Frank Lampard's delivery clear.

2113: Possession has swung back Chelsea's way and they have 51% of the ball. At one stage Liverpool were almost up to 60%.

2112: Something out of nothing for Liverpool. John Terry mis-judges a header which skims off his head for Jermaine Pennant. The ball won't come down quick enough for the Liverpool man and by the time he does eventually get a shot away on the right Michael Essien slides in to block.

2111: Peter Crouch earns a soft free-kick after being levered off the ball by Michael Essien. Essien is in action moments later conceding a corner, Liverpool's first of the game.

2110: Javier Mascherano has covered every balde of grass out there. He pops up in the box to clear the ball ahead of Joe Cole.

2109: Ashley Cole's in the ear of the referee. He is being visibly rattled by the former Arsenal team-mate Jermaine Pennant.

2108: John Terry launches himself to clear a Bolo Zenden cross. The Dutchman did well to skirt round Claude Makelele on the left touchline.

2107: Steve Finnan races to the byeline. His fizzing cross is glanced clear.

2105: Michael Essien is called on to block again. He takes the sting out of a Dirk Kuyt effort and Petr Cech gathers.

2104: Bolo Zenden has done a good containing job in a defensive role, but needs to offer more in attack. His delivery from the left fails to beat the first man - Michael Essien.

2103: Goalscorer Daniel Agger clatters Didier Drogba from behind and is booked.

2102: Jeers and whistles greet a sustained spell of Chelsea possession. It turns to chants of 'Liverpool, Liverpool...' as the ball is worked all the way back to Petr Cech.

2100: Dirk Kuyt peels away to celebrate only to see his header come back off the bar. The Dutchman met John Arne Riise's dink into the box with a powerful effort, but to no avail.

2059: Jermaine Pennant's having a cracking little spell as Liverpool come back into things. The fans have cranked up the atmosphere as well.

2058: Jermaine Pennant makes a sweet connection and his cross from the right is met by Peter Crouch. Petr Cech saves the downward header with his legs before his defence club the ball clear.

2057: A snap shot from Joe Cole outside the Liverpool area. His turn and shot off the right boot is dragged well wide.

2055: Bolo Zenden and Paulo Ferreira are having a good old contest on the touchline. Zenden fouls Ferreira again. Nothing comes from the drilled free-kick. It is too high for anyone.

2054: Liverpool have started the second half as they finished the first. Sitting back and letting Chelsea boss the possession.

2053: Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho looks to have dressed himself out of the Milk Tray catalogue of clothing. He is the study of concentration in his seat.

2052: Bolo Zenden tugs back Paulo Ferreira. Still scappy, disjointed and nervy.

2050: Chelsea are caught dozing in midfield and here come Liverpool. Ashley Cole ushers Steven Gerrard wide and gets himself between man and ball to avert the danger.

2049: Frank Lampard launches a long ball for Salomon Kalou to chase. The Chelsea man gets there ahead of John Arne Riise but is soon tackled.

2048: John Arne Riise comes in with an uncompromising challenge on Didier Drogba under a high ball. The Ivorian attracts the ire of home fans for feigning injury - or at least making a meal of it, but he has a case there.

2047: The second half starts.

Player rater: Steven Gerrard is still out in front... just. The Liverpool skipper and goalscorer Daniel Agger are the only players on a score of seven or more. Didier Drogba and John Terry are the only Chelsea players on six or more.

"Another boring Premiership-based semi-final based on nothing more then constant fouling and long aimless balls. The rest of Europe looks on and wonders if this is the best the Premier League has to offer then laughs."
spectaculartrenf on the 606 messageboards

"We always play better in the second half and Chelsea seem to be flagging towards the end of matches. Come on Liverpool."
redLFCSCOUSER on the 606 messageboards

"The game has not surprised me - I never expected it to be a classic, but I'm surprised by the eagerness of both teams to get the ball forward."
Graham Taylor, BBC Radio Five Live analyst

2032: HALF-TIME Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea
Liverpool go in the happier... but it could all have been so different there. Another nervy 45 minutes awaits.

2031: Frank Lampard's delivery at the free-kick is enough to have hearts in mouths in the Kop. It is dipping into the near post where Pepe Reina punches clear under pressure from Didier Drogba.

2030: A fast, precise Chelsea break ends with Ashley Cole going down under a challenge from Jermaine Pennant.

2029: Moments after Ashley Cole wastes a cross from the left, Paulo Ferreira does likewise from the right. Frustrating for Chelsea who are working the ball into good positions and stretching Liverpool.

2028: Liverpool can't really get on the ball at the minute for any sustained amount of time.

2026: Steven Gerrard races in to intercept an Ashley Cole throw-in and Liverpool can relieve the pressure. A Claude Makelele foul on Dirk Kuyt on halfway is a further let off for the hosts.

2025: Everyone back for Liverpool. They are playing for half-time here.

2024: Frank Lampard whips a corner in from the right and Didier Drogba gets on the end of it in front of Dirk Kuyt. His weak header is flicked on by Michael Essien but goes wide.

2023: Chelsea are beginning to enjoy a bit more possession, and it is in their attacking third. Nervy times for Liverpool fans.

Player rater: Steven Gerrard is leading the way. He always tops the poll when Liverpool play irrespective of what anyone else does!

2020: Salomon Kalou shows his strength to hold off Jamie Carragher in a straight race to the byeline and get a cross in. It is too high for Didier Drogba but John Obi Mikel pounces on the loose ball on the edge of the area before being bustled off the ball by John Arne Riise in the box.

2119: Steve Finnan races down the right and whips a cross into the box where Peter Crouch is climbing all over Paulo Ferreira in an effort to get to the ball and concedes a free-kick.

2117: Didier Drogba is free from the shackles of Daniel Agger on the right of the box. He latches on to a pass from John Obi Mikel and drives a low shot on goal which Pepe Reina blocks well.

2116: Didier Drogba out-muscles Daniel Agger under a high ball, but Chelsea cannot build on his good work.

2115: Joe Cole is sniffing after a forward ball, but Jamie Carragher mops up the danger.

2113: Finally a yellow card. Ashley Cole blocks the run of his old buddy Jermaine Pennant and goes in Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez's notebook.

2112: Sliding tackles left, right and centre, but the Spanish referee signals play on. This bloke is lenient.

2010: Didier Drogba goes down like a sack of spuds after a dropping ball hits him in the face. Ridiculous.

2009: What was that about silencing the crowd? No chance of that now.

2008: That means it is all square on aggregate now. A Chelsea goal would mean Liverpool would have to score two more to go through to the final.

2007: GOAL Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea
Steven Gerrard steps up from the foul by his England colleague Joe Cole and squares the ball to Daniel Agger. From outside the area he side-foots a delightful first-time shot which goes in low at Petr Cech's left-hand post.

2006: Petr Cech gets to the ball ahead of Peter Crouch and punches clear. Jermaine Pennant's shot is blocked. Joe Cole escapes a yellow card for a rash tackle on Steven Gerrard. Cole should have been ruled out of any potential final there.

2005: There's that old cliche about silencing the home fans in the first 20 minutes in European matches. Chelsea have not done that.

2004: Steven Gerrard slides into John Obi Mikel. The Nigerian stays down and gingerly gets up. Rash to say the least from the Liverpool skipper.

2003: Blimey. The ever-dependable Claude Makelele is a bit frisky tonight. He almost plays John Terry into trouble on the edge of the area, but Chelsea escape.

2002: The yellow-booted Claude Makelele is caught in possession on the edge of his area, but comes away with a free-kick. The Spanish referee Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez is picky.

2000: A first opening for Chelsea as Frank Lampard launches a long ball down the right for Didier Drogba to chase. He drills a cross in which is well blocked and cleared.

1958: Liverpool have had 58% of the possession so far.

1957: Liverpool are stepping things up with Jermaine Pennant to the fore. Their momentum is checked by a Steven Gerrard foul on John Terry.

1956: John Arne Riise goes for the sort of extravagant scissors-kick you try in the kickabout down the park. He makes the same sort of contact. A poor one.

1954: All getting a little bit feisty. Paulo Ferreira jumps into Bolo Zenden and then John Obi Mikel and Javier Mascherano clash. A free-kick to the home side for the first incident.

1952: Ashley Cole pushes Jermaine Pennant, his best mate in football, and the Reds winger catches Steven Gerrard's elbow. Free-kick to Liverpool, but a sliding Peter Crouch cannot get on the end of it.

1951: The ball breaks for Steven Gerrard who lines up one of those trademark howitzers. His shot is drilled well wide. He will need to tweak the radar.

1950: Bolo Zenden, tight to the Liverpool left, loses possession. Still quite scrappy.

1948: Both teams are getting a good early feel of the ball and, as expected, Steven Gerrard is in the middle of the park this week, with Jermaine Pennant hugging the right touchline.

1947: Overcoats for the two managers who are both on their feet in the technical areas.

1946: Something to keep an eye on. If Jermaine Pennant, Javier Mascherano, Didier Drogba or Joe Cole get booked they will miss the final should their team reach it.

1945: So then, English football is assured of one finalist in Athens, but who will it be? Chelsea get the ball rolling.

1943: The two teams exchange handshakes after the Champions League anthem.

1942: Here come the players - including Ashley Cole.

1941: A beautiful, clear evening in Liverpool and a resounding rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' as the players gather in the tunnel.

1940: So there it is then. All the reasons why Liverpool will not win, but on a positive note for Reds fans is news that Ashley Cole hobbled off after the warm-up. Five Live analyst Graham Taylor reckons he had his ankle strapping on too tight.

1938: And they have lost four times at home this year - twice to Arsenal as well as 1-0 reverses to Manchester United and Barcelona.

1937: So we know all about Chelsea's run of form, what of Liverpool? They have lost their last two matches - the first leg at Stamford Bridge and the weekend Premiership fixture at Portsmouth when they rested a host of first-teamers.

1934: Middlesbrough beat Chelsea 3-0 last season and Juventus are the only team to reach the Champions League final having lost the first leg of their semi-final in the last 10 years. They did it in 2003.

1932: Had enough time to think about those yet?

1930: While we are on questions, how many teams have overturned a first-leg deficit in a Champions League semi-final in the last decade?

1929: Still think a 2-0 Liverpool win sounds easy. In the three seasons Jose Mourinho has been at Chelsea they have only lost by a two-goal margin on two occasions. Any idea who the other victorious team was?

1927: No doubt about it, Liverpool face a massive task. That 2-0 win over Chelsea in January was the last time the Blues lost a match, their only reverse in more than five months. That's 23 games and counting.

1925: A bit of local music on the PA with "We All Live in a Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles blaring out. Who will be sinking tonight?

1923: But Liverpool's pair of wins have been significant. Their victories came in the Champions League semi-final second leg in 2005 and the league meeting earlier this season when they took the spoils 2-0. More of the same would do tonight for the home fans.

1920: But since then Chelsea have won two and Liverpool two of their five meetings in L4 and in short, when Chelsea score they win.

1917: Throughout most of the 90s you could have put this down as a Liverpool win before kick-off. Chelsea failed to win at Anfield for more than 11-and-a-half years until a late Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink winner in August 2003.

1914: You don't often see a manager during the warm-up, but here comes Jose Mourinho.

"The atmosphere will be a major difference, but on the pitch it will be tight, the whole record between these teams has been that. The most important thing is who will score the first goal? Liverpool need a high tempo and to score first. If Chelsea score that goal it is all over."
Graham Taylor, BBC Radio Five Live analyst

1908: The goalkeepers come out and we get a first taste of that Anfield roar as the fans join in with a rendition of Johnny Cash's 'Ring of Fire'.

"Hopefully it's a good game. Sorry, but the last four or five meetings between these two teams in the Champions League have been unbelievably tedious - players waiting for something to happen rather then making it happen themselves. I tip Chelsea."
Crazy jens on the 606 meesageboards

1905: For the neutral you've got to hope something inspired will happen. Five of those 15 meetings have been in the Champions league but there have only been two goals in those matches - one if you're Jose Mourinho who is still muttering about Luis Garcia's 'phantom' goal in 2005.

1903: Chelsea skipper John Terry has described that game as the worst moment of his career, but he also believes the Anfield crowd can inspire Chelsea tonight.

1859: Much has been made of the Anfield atmosphere and it stunned Chelsea the last time these teams met in the Champions League semi-finals.

1855: And Rafael Benitez has described the Anfield crowd as "the special ones" in a dig at the self-annointed 'Special One' who will be in the opposing dug-out tonight.

1853: Here's one from Jose Mourinho on Rafael Benitez: "Three years without a Premiership title? I don't think I would still be in a job."

1849: If absence makes the heart grow fonder, what does abundance do? Makes it spit with antagonism if the two managers are anything to go by.

1846: These two teams know each other extremely well. This is their fifth meeting of the season and their 15th since Rafael Benitez and Jose Mourinho took the helm at their respective clubs almost three years ago.

1843: A word from our man at Anfield on those teams and Phil McNulty's word is "surprised". No Xabi Alonso and no Mohamed Sissoko on the bench, the order of the night from Rafael Benitez must be crosses into the box from the flanks.

Chelsea team news: The Blues make two changes from the team that won the first leg 1-0. Michael Essien, who was suspended for that match, comes in in central defence for the injured Ricardo Carvalho, while Salomon Kalou starts in place of the Andriy Shevchenko, who is also injured... maybe.

Petr Cech; Paulo Ferreira, Michael Essien, John Terry, Ashley Cole; Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard, John Obi Mikel, Joe Cole; Solomon Kalou, Didier Drogba.

Liverpool team news: The Reds start with Peter Crouch in attack alongside Dirk Kuyt. Crouch's recall in place of Craig Bellamy is one of three changes from the first leg, with Jermaine Pennant replacing Xabi Alonso and Steve Finnan returning in place Alvaro Arbeloa.

Pepe Reina; Steve Finnan, Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger, John Arne Riise; Jermaine Pennant, Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Boudewijn Zenden; Peter Crouch, Dirk Kuyt.

1840: Here we go again then. Just six days since their last meeting, Liverpool and Chelsea lock swords again.