Liverpool's Champions League qualification hopes are on the brink after Jurgen Klopp's men, despite just one domestic defeat all season, were surprised 2-0 by Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday
Chelsea face BATE Borisov tonight knowing that a win will put them through to the knockout stages of the Europa League, having beaten the Belarussian side 3-1 at Stamford Bridge three weeks ago, and will be going for a 17th game unbeaten this season
But midfielder Kovacic warned they must not get caught out, saying: "I watched the game, and Liverpool struggled a lot
"In Belgrade the atmosphere is tough. It's difficult to play there, like it will be here as well
"These are games where you need to concentrate or you will lose. The most important thing is that we need to be prepared so what happened to Liverpool doesn't happen to us
"We know this competition gives us the chance to win a trophy. We have nine points from three games, and are doing good
But this will be tough, like every game in Europe. "It's a good thing that people still say we can play better
We are still unbeaten and we have not played at our highest level, because we have been with the coach only two or three months now
"We need to improve a lot. It needs time to understand completely and work on the manager's football, but we're doing a great job
Every game and every training session we'll be better. "I don't know how long it will take to get there
Manchester City with Pep Guardiola struggled in their first season. We're doing very well because the team has great talent
" Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri brought top scorer Eden Hazard with him to Belarus, despite the Belgian having played only 26 minutes against Crystal Palace on Sunday as he continued his recovery from back problems
But striker Alvaro Morata was left behind to rest, so Olivier Giroud – without a goal for the club this season – will lead the attack
Cesc Fabregas pulled out with a fever yesterday morning, so Brazilian Jorginho is expected to continue in midfield
Sarri insisted that Morata, whose two goals against Palace on Sunday took him to five in his last six games, needed a rest and to work on his "physical qualities"
The Spaniard will undertake aerobic conditioning to strengthen his back at the club's Cobham training ground – but there will be no weight-training
The manager has decreed Chelsea's players no longer pump the iron in the gym. "He will not be doing weights
Yesterday he had aerobic training. Today he will have strength training – but we don't use any weights," said Sarri
"It's all natural work that we do in the gym. Nobody does weights. I've never seen a player with a weight on the pitch
"Morata has played very often in the last period. It's better for him and easier to stay fit with two or three training sessions than only with matches
"Sometimes the players need to train on specific things, to work on physical qualities
Sometimes it's better than playing." Chelsea trained last night at the Dinamo Stadium here in Minsk but the game is being played at the Borisov Arena, the home of BATE, some 50 miles away
Gary Cahill, Andreas Christensen and Davide Zappacosta are expected to come into the defence alongside Brazilian Emerson, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek, scorer of the hat-trick against BATE in the home game, set to partner Hazard and Giroud in attack in a strong Chelsea team
BATE BORISOV (4-3-3): Scherbitski; Rios, Fillipovic, Fillipenko, Volodko; Baga, Dragun, Hleb; Skavysh, Signevich, Stasevich
CHELSEA (4-3-3): Kepa; Zappacosta, Cahill, Christensen, Emerson; Barkley, Jorginho, Kovacic; Loftus-Cheek, Giroud, Hazard
Referee: Nikola Dabanovic (Montenegro). Kick-off: 5.15pm. TV: BT Sport 2.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét