Watch Manchester United v AC Milan and Chelsea v Liverpool live on RTÉ Two and RTÉ.ie/sport (RoI only; 450k) from 7pm on 24/25 April.
What a week of football we have in store as the Champions League reaches the semi-final stage.
Manchester United against AC Milan is a tough match to call but I am finding it nearly impossible to pick a winner from the Chelsea-Liverpool semi-final.
I was blown away by the performance of Chelsea in the last eight in Valencia. They were heading out of the competition at half-time at the Mestalla as they were a goal down on the night and had an away goal against them in the tie. Chelsea, though, were breathtaking in the second half of that match and were well worth their victory.
I did think the morning after the match that Chelsea would win the tournament outright after their display but I am starting to wobble now. I believe that the one team that Mourinho and Chelsea did not want to face now was Liverpool.
Rafa Benitez and the Chelsea boss are not exactly very fond of each other but that is irrelevant. What matters is the fact that Liverpool love playing Chelsea and have an excellent record against them. Liverpool drew 0-0 at the Bridge in the first leg of the semi two years ago and they will play in a defensive manner again on Wednesday night. It will be up to Chelsea to break them down and to try to carve out an advantage to take to Anfield for the second leg. Chelsea are out to gain revenge on the 'ghost goal' Luis Garcia scored in the second leg and that is something that still drives Mourinho mad to this day.
Chelsea were flat against Newcastle United in the Premiership on Sunday and failed to close the gap on Manchester United as they were held to a draw. They had to take things easy with an eye on the Champions League and as a result they struggled to create chances at St James’ Park.
The key thing for me is that Liverpool played on Saturday and will have had an extra day of rest on Chelsea. Liverpool did win last weekend but Bentiez was able to leave Steven Gerrard on the bench for a long period of the match so he would be fresh for the trip to London. That extra 24 hours could be crucial for Liverpool, who are only bidding for one trophy this season while Chelsea are trying to win the lot.
The big matches are coming thick and fast for Chelsea and Mourinho cannot afford to rest any of his big name players at this stage. Fatigue could be a factor, but the atmosphere and the importance of the Champions League will carry them along against Liverpool.
While I am struggling to pick a winner between the two teams, I do have a feeling that both matches will not be great entertainment for the neutrals, while fans of Chelsea and Liverpool will be on the edge of their seats, crippled with nerves.
The match could be quite niggly with players keen to settle old scores, and that could affect the flow of the encounter. However, we are guaranteed incredible tension, and extra-time and penalties could even be required to separate them next week at Anfield. Talk about sitting on the fence but this is a prediction-free zone for Chelsea-Liverpool.
