Liverpool are struggling almost as much as Chelsea this season, but we’re still expecting a very competitive and high quality game tonight.
After taking a beating off Man City at the weekend the Reds will be desperate to bounce back tonight, while Chelsea are in a chaotic situation of their own, with interim coach Bruno Saltor picking a team for the first time in his career.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Ruben Loftus-Cheek was pretty clear that he was looking forward to the game despite the difficulties around him.
“I think playing for Chelsea you always want to win, but when you’re playing against other big teams you feel like they’re your rival and you’ve always got this extra ambition, that little switch in mentality that you’re ready to bring your best physically and mentally. You always want to get the edge over them, the bragging rights, and of course three points.
“The fans love these games and the atmosphere in the stadium is always big and loud and that helps us playing at home. As players we love to play in these games. It’s the best games to play in when you’re playing other big teams and we’ll have to bring our best because they’ll likely want to beat us even more. But we enjoy these games the most so I’m ready for it.”
Let’s hope the rest of the squad are as motivated as Ruben is. We’re not too worried about the points at this stage – it’s going to be a midtable finish for us no matter what we do – but there’s a lot of pride to be played for.
As he says, if the crowd get behind the team, anything can happen.
