Let’s learn from lesson of Belgrade
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 Belarusian side 3-1 at Stamford Bridge three weeks ago, and will be going for a 17th game unbeaten this season.
But Croatia 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 well. But no game in Europe is ever easy.
“It’s a good thing that people still say we can play better. We are still unbeaten and have not played at our highest level, because we have been with the manager only two or three months.
“It needs time to understand and work on the manager’s football.”
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has 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 has been 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, and Brazilian Jorginho is expected to continue in midfield. Sarri insisted that Morata, whose two goals against Palace took him to five in his last six games, needed a rest and to work on his “physical qualities”. The Spaniard will have aerobic conditioning to strengthen his back at the club’s Cobham training ground – but there will be no weight-training. The manager has decreed his players must no longer pump the iron. “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.”
Chelsea trained last night at the Dinamo Stadium here in Minsk but the game is being played at the Borisov Arena, the home of 14-times Belarusian champions 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, who scored a hat-trick in the home game, set to partner Hazard and Giroud in attack. (4-3-3) SCHERBITSKI; RIOS, FILLIPOVIC, FILLIPENKO, VOLODKO; BAGA, DRAGUN, HLEB; SKAVYSH, SIGNEVICH, STASEVICH. (4-3-3) KEPA; ZAPPACOSTA, CAHILL, CHRISTENSEN, EMERSON; BARKLEY, JORGINHO, KOVACIC; LOFTUS-CHEEK, GIROUD, HAZARD. REF: N Dabanovic (Mne). TV: BT Sport 2. KICK-OFF: 5.15pm.