Chelsea vs. Liverpool: Blues Primed for Big Reaction in League Cup Second Leg

There’s little denying that this campaign has been one of overwhelming positivity and should eventually be one of tangible prosperity for Chelsea.

But there have been instances—the 4-2 loss to Bradford City in their last outing the most recent example—that have punctured their season, and Liverpool look set to feel the brunt of a ferocious Blues’ response in Tuesday's League Cup semi-final second leg.

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The two sides will go head-to-head at Stamford Bridge with the score poised at 1-1 from a gripping first-leg encounter.

Liverpool, you suspect, will feel as though they have a fine chance of causing Chelsea problems if the Londoners turn in a performance comparable to the one served up against League One Bradford.

But with a Wembley date within touching distance for the Blues, this will be a very different Chelsea team.

Manager Jose Mourinho insisted ahead of the game that the FA Cup shock will act as motivation to his players, especially those first-team regulars likely to be drafted back into the side, per Peter Hanson of Goal.com:

"

The players who were not involved directly in this game - [Nemanja] Matic, [Branislav] Ivanovic, Diego Costa - I don't think they can be affected by it.

We lost at home against a lower division team and in an ideal world it will affect us in a positive not a negative way, like we have to win the next match and let's go for it.

"

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With key men set to come back into the team and with a volatile atmosphere likely to be conjured by the Stamford Bridge faithful, expect instincts to be sharpened and players to be re-focused within the Chelsea camp.

Indeed, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher mawkishly paid tribute to the strength of the Blues’ team in the aftermath of the Bradford loss:

Not only will the influx of classy personnel prove to be a catalyst for a better Chelsea performance, but Mourinho’s mettle as a coach will ensure the Blues are on song here.

After their 2-1 loss to Newcastle United earlier in the season, Chelsea went on to win their next five games in a row; following their 5-3 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, they won their next three.

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Subsequently, Chris Smith of the Football Pink doesn’t expect the Premier League leaders to take quite as lackadaisical an approach into this game:

It was Liverpool who halted their recent run of wins in the first leg of this semi-final, and even though Brendan Rodgers was happy to wax lyrical about his team’s display afterwards, they were unable to seize a lead for the trip down south. When you consider how poor Chelsea played at Anfield that evening, that will be a concern for the Liverpool boss.

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With what is close to a full-strength team out for the Blues, expect Chelsea to play with the swagger, cohesion and purpose that has seen them preserve a perfect home record in the Premier League so far this season. 

As we can see by the team named by Mourinho, his XI is going to be very tough to beat:

Liverpool—their own FA Cup faux pas aside—have shown really positive signs in recent weeks and will take great heart from their display in the first leg. But this is a young team that has yet to fully experience the pressures of these big semi-final clashes; by comparison, Mourinho’s squad is bristling with players who have won major honours on myriad occasions.

That experience—along with some harsh words from the Portuguese ringing in their ears, you'd imagine—will enable Chelsea to come through this one.

Getting this win over their fierce rivals, getting to Wembley and picking up that first piece of silverware should then be a catalyst for this side to challenge for major honours come the campaign's climax.