Chelsea against Liverpool

Down to 10 men and Liverpool are surely beaten. Le Suax is helped off the pitch by the Physio and he surely can't carry on but Chelsea have used all thier subs

The Bridge roars is its disapproval as Gerrard crashes into Le Saux and the Liverpool player is sent off

Zola and Le Saux exchange passes and then its back to Desailly - every Chelsea pass being cheered as the exhibition gets underway

Berger loses the ball to Gallas and Lampard brings it up and passes to Zola

We're into the last 5 minutes and Liverpool are robbed trying to bring the ball out of their half and Lampard is unlucky to see his long range effort go just wide

Chelsea really pressing and ending this fast-paced on top - Cole tries a shot but its truned away

Gerrard is booked for a bad tackle on Zola, frustration creeping into the game for Liverpool as the minutes ebb away

Zola jinks past three Liverpool defenders on the way to winning a corner, great skill by the little Italian

Zola gets the ball and feeds it to Melchiot on the right hand corner of the penalty area, he fires in a low shot and it bounces of the inside of the post and clear

Stanic just fails to reach the ball after Le Saux crossed into the box

Houllier and his assistant Phil Thompson look very deflated on the touchline - is their dream over?

Petit and Le saux link up well to get the ball to Cole who runs with the ball to the byline, but its out for goal kick

Hasselbaink's season ends with a whimper as he leaves the field injured and looking decidedly glum. He is replaced by the promising and talented Carlton Cole

Cudicini leapt high to claim the ball but he failed to grasp the slippery ball, Baros then handled the ball on his way to netting - the scores reamin the same

Baros puts the ball in the Chelsea net, but the linesman flags for an infringement

Cheyrou finds the ball at his feet from the corner but he swings his leg and misses the ball totally - shockingly bad

Owen forces a mistake from Melchiot and Liverpool have a corner

Bruno Cheyrou is on for John Arne Riise who has failed to inspire today

Traore concedes a corner, but Zola's kick is poor

Will Zola stay for another year at Chelsea - maybe the lure of the Champions League will convince him

Chelsea make another substitute, and to a man the home fans stand to welcome the appearance of Gianfranco Zola who replaces Gudjohnsen

Berger flicks a pass to Owen but the England striker is quickly dispossessed by Gallas. It's not been Owen's day so far

Jerzy Dudek comes a long way off his line to cut out a long ball to Eidur Gudjohnsen - the crowd thing the Pole used his hand outside his box, but the referee waves play on

Jesper Gronkjaer leaves the field to rapturous applause to be replaced by Mario Stanic. Has Gronkjaer's goal got Chelsea back into Europe?

Carragher clears the ball with Chlesea looking ominous, Melchiot picks it up on the right of the box but his attempted cross is dreadful

Carragher gets the ball to Baros and he is unlucky not to win a corner but Babayaro shepperds it out

Chelsea are on top at the moment, both in the table and on the pitch Liverpool need to muster something with 25 minutes left

Hasselbaink loses Traore again but he can't get enough on his shot and despite a good ball from deep its a Liverpool goal kick

Hasselbaink turns Traore and plays a one-two with Lampard inside the Liverpool area, but Carragher is on hand to block the shot

El Hadji Diouf is subbed for Berger who takes the pitch for the last time in the famous Liverpool red

Le Saux is booked for a mis-timed tackle on Gerrard

Not to be dispirited Liverpool press with El Hadji Diouf firing another teasing cross

A ball across the box is just behind both Owen and Heskey - frustrating for the Reds

Czech international Patrik Berger is poised to enter the game in what will be his last appearance for the club he joined after Euro 96

Gallas escapes any attention from the ref despite a reckless tackle on Baros on the edge of the penalty area risky stuff

Hyppia tries to pass the ball out of defence to Gerrard, but he passes staright back to his captain and Hyppia is forced to hoof it clear and Chelsea are back in possession - Liverpool made to look a bit short of ideas

Le Saux fancies his chances of glory and unleases a speculative shot from 40-yards which ends up in the stands

Heskey tackled very well by Melchiot and Chelsea break but Traore covering well cuts out a pass intended for Hasselbaink - two pieces of excellent defending

Petit gets an unintentioanl knee in the face from Murphy and needs attention

Hesekey passes the ball to Owen in a deep postion, he lays is off to Gerrard but an errant pass sees the ball out for a Chelsea throw

Baros dances past three men on the left wing, Melchiot particularly good have done more. Baros spreads it to Gerrard who fires in a great shot from 35-yards and brings a good save from Cudicini

Hasselbaink manages to get through two defenders, he falls but Lampard gets the ball and fires in a hopeful cross/shot from the right of the six-yarder - Hyppia clears

The ball is zipping around on the pitch as the rain teems down in South-West London

Another chance for Liverpool this time Owen is the unlucky one after getting the ball in the penalty area - promising signs for the Reds

El Hadji Diouf goes past Babayaro and crosses well, Heskey get the ball and trues ashot but it's blocked

Hasselbaink becomes the latest booking, his yellow card for a foul on Gerrars - possible retribution for early

Hasselbaink puts in a great cross which his strike Eidur Gudjohnsen just fails to connect with despite a dramatic lunge

Gerrard fees the ball on the floor to Owen but the ball spills to Lampard and Chelsea break

Heskey has taken up role on the left wing for Liverpool, maybe he can create some havoc and a few chances

We're back underway at the Bridge with Babayaro pressing forward for Chelsea

A tactical change for Liverpool as Houllier elects to bring on Emile Heskey for Salif Alassane Diao. Gallas and Desailly are both understood to have received treatment during the break.

Desailly limped off the pitch and may not last the full 90 minutes, can Liverpool exploit this weakness and get back into it? They need two goals to reach the Champions League as a draw will suffice for Chelsea

A fantastic response by the home team after going one goal down. Gronkjaer put Chelsea in the driving seat with an excellent goal after captains Hyppia and Desailly had scored with good headers

Chelsea in possession as the halftime whistle is blown.

One minute of stoppage time this half. Liverpool boss Gerrard Houllier looks pensive on the touchline, Claudio Ranieri looks quietly on

Wiley puts William Gallas in his book after he was rightly shown a yellow card

This time when the ball is delivered the Reds' captain Hyypia heads clear

Freekick to Chelsea on the right wing in a similar area from where the cross for thier first goal cam from

Riise's corner is headed clear but Carragher loops it back in, but again Chelsea mop up the loose ball and Cudicini has the ball

Owen tries to dribble past Melchiot and William Gallas, he fails but gets a corner

Carragher and El Hadji Diouf try to force thier way through Le Saux but fail and Chelsea have the ball again

Chelsea hurryung and hassling the Liverpool defenders with Petit particularly trying to force errors from the Reds

A Liverpool attack breaks down after Murphy is tackled by Lampard and the ball is fed to Le Suax

Melchiot causes problems for the Liverpool defenders with a long throw-in which bounces through the six-yard box both Traore and then Hyypia caught napping

Milan Baros unlucky that ball doesn't drop to him as Melchiot and Desailly wait for eachother to clear the danger

Chelsea move it forward with Gronkjaer finding Hasselbaink, but Liverpool win the back

Desailly looks uneasy, he mave have picked up an injury

Gudjohnsen, Gronkjaer and Melchiot are linking up well on the right wing and making life very difficult for Traore

Hasselbaink gets caught in possession in his own half trying to play his way out of trouble and Liverpool look to build - but Gallas defends well and Murphy fails to get a corner

An altercation in the middle of the pitch following a rash tackle by Gerrard on Hasselbaink but Alan Wiley, refereeing well, jsut calms things down

John Arne Riise links well with Traore to try and get the ball to Owen who has been conspicuous by his absence so far this afternoon - the Reds need inspiration can Owen lift the team?

And now it's Liverpool who need two goals to reach the Champions League - great game!

Jesper Gronkjaer scores a great goal for Chelsea. He colelct the ball from Melchiot on the corner of the penalty area and after shrugging of a challenge fired in a bending shot to beat Dudek

Chelsea score again!!!

Hasselbaink take his usual one-step run-up but his kick hits the wall and cannons clear

Chelsea get a free kick on the edge of the Liverpool area

Jerzy Dudek claims the kick, whipped in by Hasselbaink, but only on the second attempt - nervy stuff by the 'keeper who has been guilty of some blunders this year

Le Suax wins a corner of Carragher following a bright run down the left wing

Frank Lampard tackled on the halfway line by Gerrard, the ball spills Owen but he's tackled by Desailly before he can get to full speed

Chelsea clear another dangerous Liverpool freekick, but the home side's back line do not look at all comfortable dealing with deep crosses

The referee waves play on after Le Saux is well and trully tackled by Carragher as Eidur Gudjohnsen is in a good position, but his shot is high and wide

Gerrard spreads the ball across the field to Jamie Carragher who looks for El Hadji Diouf, but he's robbed by Babayaro

Messy stuff as the two defences hoist away long clearances to try and gain some respite - end-to-end play, but not subtle

Hasselbaink loses control of the ball and handles under pressure from Traore, he's not happy, but the kick goes against him

Another freekick for Liverpool in the same area as they scored from earlier, this time the kick is less efective and Chelsea clear

Plenty of blue Chelsea shirts behind the ball and the corner is cleared and Hasselbaink runs clear with the ball

Milan Baros wins a corner for Liverpool

Mario Melchiot tries to feed the ball to Jesper Gronkjaer, who crossed for the goal, but its over hit

Before Liverpool could even decide whether to play defensivly for the remainder of the game Chelsea get a goal of thier own - we're back to square one!

Marcel Desailly, the Chelsea skipper levels things with a header to equal Hypia's from a cross from the right wing!

Goal for Chelsea - what drama!!!

Chelsea are now chasing the game! They need two goals to reach the Champions League. A great glancing header by Hyypia

Goal!!! Danny Murphy pumps in the freekick and Liverpool captain Sami Hyypia heads home!!!

Desailly fouls Baros and its another free kick

Gerrard wastes the effort pulling his low shot wide of the goal and its a goal kick

Petit clatters into Danny Murphy and Liverpool have a free kick in a very dangerous are 30 yards out

Chelsea's fans are roaring the home side on as Babayaro and Emmanuel Petit pass the ball around confidently in the middle of the park

Graeme Le Saux's kick is too deep for Desailly at the back post and it's out for a goalkick

Eidur Gudjohnsen wins a corner for Chelsea of Traore

Sami Hyypia launches a long hopeful looking ball up the field for Liverpool, but his counterpart in the Chelsea defence, Marcel Desailly snubs out the danger

Hasselbaink's long-range effort is charged down by Steven Gerrard - possibly very painful

Chelsea win a free kick 40 yards out, Hasselbaink looks like he's going to shoot

Hasselbaink looking to finish the season with a flourish after a poor last few months by his standards

Chelsea build with Celestine Babayaro hitting a good hight ball to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, but Liverpool's centre half Djimi Traore clears

Liverpool have not won here in 13-and-a-half years and have lost their last six Premiership matches at Stamford Bridge - can they change all that today?

Murphy get the ball to Michael Owen who twists and turn in the penalty area and gets a shot away, but it's weak and Carlo Cudicini saves comfortably

Milan Baros showing an early touch of skill feeding Danny Murphy

Quite simply the winner takes it all: The glamour of Champions League football next season and an estimated £20million in revenue. For the loser the consolation of a spot in the UEFA Cup.

Referee Alan Wiley of Staffordshire gets things underway at the Bridge for a game of massive significance.

Liverpool: Jerzy Dudek, Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypia, Djimi Traore, John Arne Riise, El Hadji Diouf, Steven Gerrard, Danny Murphy, Salif Alassane Diao, Milan Baros and Michael Owen

Team news from Stamford Bridge, Chelsea: Carlo Cudicini, Mario Melchiot, William Gallas, Marcel Desailly, Celestine Babayaro, Jesper Gronkjaer, Emmanuel Petit, Frank Lampard, Graeme Le Saux, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Join Soccernet for live coverage of Chelsea against Liverpool, the crucial game that will decide which side reaches next season's Champions League. Commentary begins at 1500 UK time.

Cheyrou finds the ball at his feet from the corner but he swings his leg and misses the ball totally - shockingly bad

Owen forces a mistake from Melchiot and Liverpool have a corner

Bruno Cheyrou is on for John Arne Riise who has failed to inspire today

Traore concedes a corner, but Zola's kick is poor

Will Zola stay for another year at Chelsea - maybe the lure of the Champions League will convince him

Chelsea make another substitute, and to a man the home fans stand to welcome the appearance of Gianfranco Zola who replaces Gudjohnsen

Berger flicks a pass to Owen but the England striker is quickly dispossessed by Gallas. It's not been Owen's day so far

Jerzy Dudek comes a long way off his line to cut out a long ball to Eidur Gudjohnsen - the crowd thing the Pole used his hand outside his box, but the referee waves play on

Jesper Gronkjaer leaves the field to rapturous applause to be replaced by Mario Stanic. Has Gronkjaer's goal got Chelsea back into Europe?

Carragher clears the ball with Chlesea looking ominous, Melchiot picks it up on the right of the box but his attempted cross is dreadful

Carragher gets the ball to Baros and he is unlucky not to win a corner but Babayaro shepperds it out

Chelsea are on top at the moment, both in the table and on the pitch Liverpool need to muster something with 25 minutes left

Hasselbaink loses Traore again but he can't get enough on his shot and despite a good ball from deep its a Liverpool goal kick

Hasselbaink turns Traore and plays a one-two with Lampard inside the Liverpool area, but Carragher is on hand to block the shot

El Hadji Diouf is subbed for Berger who takes the pitch for the last time in the famous Liverpool red

Le Saux is booked for a mis-timed tackle on Gerrard

Not to be dispirited Liverpool press with El Hadji Diouf firing another teasing cross

A ball across the box is just behind both Owen and Heskey - frustrating for the Reds

Czech international Patrik Berger is poised to enter the game in what will be his last appearance for the club he joined after Euro 96

Gallas escapes any attention from the ref despite a reckless tackle on Baros on the edge of the penalty area risky stuff

Hyppia tries to pass the ball out of defence to Gerrard, but he passes staright back to his captain and Hyppia is forced to hoof it clear and Chelsea are back in possession - Liverpool made to look a bit short of ideas

Le Saux fancies his chances of glory and unleases a speculative shot from 40-yards which ends up in the stands

Heskey tackled very well by Melchiot and Chelsea break but Traore covering well cuts out a pass intended for Hasselbaink - two pieces of excellent defending

Petit gets an unintentioanl knee in the face from Murphy and needs attention

Hesekey passes the ball to Owen in a deep postion, he lays is off to Gerrard but an errant pass sees the ball out for a Chelsea throw

Baros dances past three men on the left wing, Melchiot particularly good have done more. Baros spreads it to Gerrard who fires in a great shot from 35-yards and brings a good save from Cudicini

Hasselbaink manages to get through two defenders, he falls but Lampard gets the ball and fires in a hopeful cross/shot from the right of the six-yarder - Hyppia clears

The ball is zipping around on the pitch as the rain teems down in South-West London

Another chance for Liverpool this time Owen is the unlucky one after getting the ball in the penalty area - promising signs for the Reds

El Hadji Diouf goes past Babayaro and crosses well, Heskey get the ball and trues ashot but it's blocked

Hasselbaink becomes the latest booking, his yellow card for a foul on Gerrars - possible retribution for early

Hasselbaink puts in a great cross which his strike Eidur Gudjohnsen just fails to connect with despite a dramatic lunge

Gerrard fees the ball on the floor to Owen but the ball spills to Lampard and Chelsea break

Heskey has taken up role on the left wing for Liverpool, maybe he can create some havoc and a few chances

We're back underway at the Bridge with Babayaro pressing forward for Chelsea

A tactical change for Liverpool as Houllier elects to bring on Emile Heskey for Salif Alassane Diao. Gallas and Desailly are both understood to have received treatment during the break.

Desailly limped off the pitch and may not last the full 90 minutes, can Liverpool exploit this weakness and get back into it? They need two goals to reach the Champions League as a draw will suffice for Chelsea

A fantastic response by the home team after going one goal down. Gronkjaer put Chelsea in the driving seat with an excellent goal after captains Hyppia and Desailly had scored with good headers

Chelsea in possession as the halftime whistle is blown.

One minute of stoppage time this half. Liverpool boss Gerrard Houllier looks pensive on the touchline, Claudio Ranieri looks quietly on

Wiley puts William Gallas in his book after he was rightly shown a yellow card

This time when the ball is delivered the Reds' captain Hyypia heads clear

Freekick to Chelsea on the right wing in a similar area from where the cross for thier first goal cam from

Riise's corner is headed clear but Carragher loops it back in, but again Chelsea mop up the loose ball and Cudicini has the ball

Owen tries to dribble past Melchiot and William Gallas, he fails but gets a corner

Carragher and El Hadji Diouf try to force thier way through Le Saux but fail and Chelsea have the ball again

Chelsea hurryung and hassling the Liverpool defenders with Petit particularly trying to force errors from the Reds

A Liverpool attack breaks down after Murphy is tackled by Lampard and the ball is fed to Le Suax

Melchiot causes problems for the Liverpool defenders with a long throw-in which bounces through the six-yard box both Traore and then Hyypia caught napping

Milan Baros unlucky that ball doesn't drop to him as Melchiot and Desailly wait for eachother to clear the danger

Chelsea move it forward with Gronkjaer finding Hasselbaink, but Liverpool win the back

Desailly looks uneasy, he mave have picked up an injury

Gudjohnsen, Gronkjaer and Melchiot are linking up well on the right wing and making life very difficult for Traore

Hasselbaink gets caught in possession in his own half trying to play his way out of trouble and Liverpool look to build - but Gallas defends well and Murphy fails to get a corner

An altercation in the middle of the pitch following a rash tackle by Gerrard on Hasselbaink but Alan Wiley, refereeing well, jsut calms things down

John Arne Riise links well with Traore to try and get the ball to Owen who has been conspicuous by his absence so far this afternoon - the Reds need inspiration can Owen lift the team?

And now it's Liverpool who need two goals to reach the Champions League - great game!

Jesper Gronkjaer scores a great goal for Chelsea. He colelct the ball from Melchiot on the corner of the penalty area and after shrugging of a challenge fired in a bending shot to beat Dudek

Chelsea score again!!!

Hasselbaink take his usual one-step run-up but his kick hits the wall and cannons clear

Chelsea get a free kick on the edge of the Liverpool area

Jerzy Dudek claims the kick, whipped in by Hasselbaink, but only on the second attempt - nervy stuff by the 'keeper who has been guilty of some blunders this year

Le Suax wins a corner of Carragher following a bright run down the left wing

Frank Lampard tackled on the halfway line by Gerrard, the ball spills Owen but he's tackled by Desailly before he can get to full speed

Chelsea clear another dangerous Liverpool freekick, but the home side's back line do not look at all comfortable dealing with deep crosses

The referee waves play on after Le Saux is well and trully tackled by Carragher as Eidur Gudjohnsen is in a good position, but his shot is high and wide

Gerrard spreads the ball across the field to Jamie Carragher who looks for El Hadji Diouf, but he's robbed by Babayaro

Messy stuff as the two defences hoist away long clearances to try and gain some respite - end-to-end play, but not subtle

Hasselbaink loses control of the ball and handles under pressure from Traore, he's not happy, but the kick goes against him

Another freekick for Liverpool in the same area as they scored from earlier, this time the kick is less efective and Chelsea clear

Plenty of blue Chelsea shirts behind the ball and the corner is cleared and Hasselbaink runs clear with the ball

Milan Baros wins a corner for Liverpool

Mario Melchiot tries to feed the ball to Jesper Gronkjaer, who crossed for the goal, but its over hit

Before Liverpool could even decide whether to play defensivly for the remainder of the game Chelsea get a goal of thier own - we're back to square one!

Marcel Desailly, the Chelsea skipper levels things with a header to equal Hypia's from a cross from the right wing!

Goal for Chelsea - what drama!!!

Chelsea are now chasing the game! They need two goals to reach the Champions League. A great glancing header by Hyypia

Goal!!! Danny Murphy pumps in the freekick and Liverpool captain Sami Hyypia heads home!!!

Desailly fouls Baros and its another free kick

Gerrard wastes the effort pulling his low shot wide of the goal and its a goal kick

Petit clatters into Danny Murphy and Liverpool have a free kick in a very dangerous are 30 yards out

Chelsea's fans are roaring the home side on as Babayaro and Emmanuel Petit pass the ball around confidently in the middle of the park

Graeme Le Saux's kick is too deep for Desailly at the back post and it's out for a goalkick

Eidur Gudjohnsen wins a corner for Chelsea of Traore

Sami Hyypia launches a long hopeful looking ball up the field for Liverpool, but his counterpart in the Chelsea defence, Marcel Desailly snubs out the danger

Hasselbaink's long-range effort is charged down by Steven Gerrard - possibly very painful

Chelsea win a free kick 40 yards out, Hasselbaink looks like he's going to shoot

Hasselbaink looking to finish the season with a flourish after a poor last few months by his standards

Chelsea build with Celestine Babayaro hitting a good hight ball to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, but Liverpool's centre half Djimi Traore clears

Liverpool have not won here in 13-and-a-half years and have lost their last six Premiership matches at Stamford Bridge - can they change all that today?

Murphy get the ball to Michael Owen who twists and turn in the penalty area and gets a shot away, but it's weak and Carlo Cudicini saves comfortably

Milan Baros showing an early touch of skill feeding Danny Murphy

Quite simply the winner takes it all: The glamour of Champions League football next season and an estimated £20million in revenue. For the loser the consolation of a spot in the UEFA Cup.

Referee Alan Wiley of Staffordshire gets things underway at the Bridge for a game of massive significance.

Liverpool: Jerzy Dudek, Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypia, Djimi Traore, John Arne Riise, El Hadji Diouf, Steven Gerrard, Danny Murphy, Salif Alassane Diao, Milan Baros and Michael Owen

Team news from Stamford Bridge, Chelsea: Carlo Cudicini, Mario Melchiot, William Gallas, Marcel Desailly, Celestine Babayaro, Jesper Gronkjaer, Emmanuel Petit, Frank Lampard, Graeme Le Saux, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Join Soccernet for live coverage of Chelsea against Liverpool, the crucial game that will decide which side reaches next season's Champions League. Commentary begins at 1500 UK time.