Final call to soft-shoe shufflers

PUNTERS need to be light on their feet, because we’re dancing in the dark at Stamford Bridge.

History tells us to watch your step if sides have one eye on major finals – particularly now that league points are largely irrelevant to both.

That hasn’t always been the case for Chelsea and Liverpool of course – it’s the champions of 2017 welcoming the champions of [blows dust off wikipedia page] 1990 today.

Chelsea’s title seems the more distant memory, somehow.

Seeing the current Blues straining away at the fringes of the top four it’s hard to believe it was only 12 months ago that Antonio Conte (right) had the whole division by the short and curlies.

Hard to believe he has spent hundreds of millions ‘improving his squad’ since.

But mostly it’s still hard to believe Chelsea had Mo Salah and knew he was no good.

The lesson, as usual, is that everything changes and that changes everything.

That’s certainly what punters have to expect from Jurgen Klopp’s post-Roma team sheet today (4.30pm).

And this fixture’s traditional blood-andthunder level of competition could change too, replaced by something more in line ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN was on the plane. Now he’s not. He’s still in the Panini sticker book, but it’s not the same.

How many of Ox’s fellow World Cup wannabes are entering the injury lottery of the remaining games with ‘It could be you’ thundering in their ears?

Ignore 1/16 Manchester City, but bet ref Mike Dean (left) comes down hard on rough stuff at the Etihad (1.30pm), with Huddersfield fighting for survival. Punt OVER 2.5 cards at 4/5 (Paddy).