The Blues were victorious at Anfield earlier in the season, but the former Swansea boss believes his side are in a better place now as they chase a place in the League Cup final

Brendan Rodgers has warned Chelsea that they will face a different Liverpool in Tuesday’s League Cup semi-final first leg than the one they beat earlier in the season.

The Reds welcome Jose Mourinho’s Premier League leaders to Anfield for the second time this season, with Chelsea having emerged 2-1 winners in the top flight clash in November.

That fixture was part of a run of four straight defeats for a Liverpool side who struggled in the early stages of the season after going so close to winning the title last term.

Manager Rodgers has seen his side improve vastly recently, though, and they head into Tuesday’s match unbeaten in their last eight games in all competitions.

While acknowledging the strength of Chelsea’s squad, Rodgers is confident of progressing over the two-legged tie and insists his target for this season remains winning a trophy and qualifying for the Champions League.

“We know if you want to win the competition you have to beat the best teams,” Rodgers told reporters. “We are developing and improving as season goes on and we are full of confidence.

“When we last played them, we weren’t in a good moment but we’re developing, improving and confidence is very high.

“Chelsea are in a really strong position. They have a very experienced squad of players who are playing well. They are five points clear [in the Premier League] but there is still a long way to go.

“Our objective is still to win a trophy and qualify for the Champions League. A trophy would help build for the future. Chelsea have shown that once you win a trophy you can go on and sustain it. But the first trophy is always the hardest.”

Rodgers, a former youth and reserve team manager at Chelsea, insists that all will not be lost even if Liverpool fail to win the first leg on home turf.

“We have spoken about the fact it is a different type of game,” he added. “You don’t need to open up too much. We want to win, but the tie won’t be won or lost in the first game.

“We know we’ll have to deal with pressure at moments in the game but the most important thing is to make sure we are in a good position in the second leg.

“These are the games that excite you and it is an opportunity to win a trophy. If we do that it is an opportunity to bring these players on.”

Blues supporters still taunt the Liverpool captain about his fateful slip in last season’s title race but the Portuguese believes the 34-year-old deserves better

Jose Mourinho has told Chelsea fans to show Steven Gerrard some respect in Tuesday’s League Cup semi-final first leg clash with Liverpool at Anfield.

Gerrard has long been a target for Blues supporters, having been the enduring symbol of Liverpool from the moment the rivalry between the two clubs began to intensify during Mourinho’s first spell at Stamford Bridge.

But the relentless abuse faced by the former England international has ramped up since last season’s Premier League title run-in, when he slipped and gifted the ball to Demba Ba for the opening goal of a game that saw Chelsea deal Liverpool’s hopes of a first league title since 1990 a devastating blow.

Chelsea fans have created a mocking chant about the incident, but Mourinho insists he doesn’t want to hear it when the two sides face off in the first of a two-legged clash for a place at Wembley on Tuesday.

“He’s a historic player for Liverpool, a historic player for the Premier League,” the Blues boss told reporters. “He’s an opponent I always admired and respected. There is a song that my fans have that I don’t like at all.

“A couple of times it’s good fun but to go and go and go, especially when a player like him deserves respect, we don’t need that.”

Earlier this month Gerrard confirmed he will leave Liverpool at the end of this season to join MLS champions LA Galaxy, prompting many to take stock of the 34-year-old’s remarkable career.

Following Chelsea’s impressive 5-0 win over Swansea City on Saturday, Mourinho allowed himself to wonder what might have been had Gerrard not spurned the chance to move to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2005.

“I was dreaming of Claude Makelele, Gerrard and Frank Lampard,” he added.  

“We were playing in an open triangle without a No 10, we were playing with Maka in front of the defenders and me and Mr Abramovich and Peter Kenyon were dreaming of that.

“We did everything to get him. It was almost there. But the decision for me was proven right because he will be always a red forever. Gerrard’s people were open to it and the feeling to join a top side like Chelsea, I think the feeling was there but to me personally he never said ‘I will go’.

“I love these quotes when he was saying that in this life he would never score against Liverpool. I understand why he was almost coming to Chelsea and he didn’t.”

The striker completed a €13 million move to Anfield during the summer in a deal that saw him immediately loaned back to the Ligue 1 club, where he appears set to remain until June

Brendan Rodgers has revealed Liverpool are unlikely to bring Divock Origi’s move from Lille forward to January.

Liverpool signed Origi last July, but it was agreed the forward would remain with Lille on loan for the season – but reports circulated he could return to Anfield ahead of schedule to bolster the club’s strikeforce.

However, with Daniel Sturridge closing in on his long-awaited return to action and having recalled Jordon Ibe from his loan spell with Derby County, Rodgers expects Origi to stay put in January.

“That was the original deal [for the player to remain with Lille this season],” Rodgers told talkSPORT.

“There were a few discussions between the clubs in January to see where it was at, but the likelihood is he’ll stay at Lille.”

Rodgers went on to reiterate his excitement at the prospect of welcoming Origi, who rose in prominence during the World Cup in Brazil last year, to Anfield ahead of next season.

“I think he’s a real exciting young talent – you saw him in the World Cup,” he added. “He’s got everything… he’s suited to the Premier League.

“He can play through the middle or on the side. Everything is set up for him to come here and do well.”