Rafa Benitez is predicting Chelsea will struggle when confronted by the Anfield crowd on Tuesday night.Liverpool are aiming to overturn a one-goal deficit against their old rivals in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League.
The Reds beat Chelsea 2-0 at home in the Premiership back in January and also notched a 1-0 success at this stage of the Champions League two years ago.
Benitez feels that, despite any positive noises emanating from the Chelsea camp, the intimidating atmosphere at Anfield will be a problem for Jose Mourinho's side.
"I am sure they will see that Anfield is very difficult for them," said Benitez on Sky Sports News.
"I know they have this experience before and you can talk about 'no, no, it's not a problem', but we know it will be a problem for them.
"You know my idea, our supporters, they are the special ones, that's clear."
The Champions League represents Liverpool's only chance of silverware this season, but Benitez is happy with the progress his team have been making.
He added: "I think it's important to see the team in the top four in Europe, it's very positive.
"We want to improve in all the competitions, but at least we have this opportunity which is not easy for the majority of teams, so we must be pleased to be here.
When asked if it was imperative for Liverpool to win the Champions League, he responded: "Imperative? You cannot say that, I don't think for any club in the world it's imperative.
"Maybe it's really more imperative for who spends the more money, it always the same, it's normal.
"Each one (club) has its own problems. We want to win this game and we want to finish third in the league."
By:Mark Buckingham
Date:30 Apr 2007
Credit:www.skysports.com
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