Liverpool travel to newly-crowned Premier League champions Chelsea on Sunday knowing that only a victory will do in their bid to reach the Champions League.
However, being obliged to line up in a guard of honour might spur on the Reds in their efforts of toppling the champions and keeping their top-four hopes alive.
Chelsea
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Having wrapped up the Premier League title with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace last weekend, Chelsea can afford to take their foot off the pedal for the remaining three games after dominating a title race that they led from August.
With a 13-point lead at the summit, few can argue that Jose Mourinho's charges are not worthy of their title, but despite giving his players a four-day reprieve for their hard work throughout the season, the Portuguese will demand the same hunger when Liverpool come to town.
The title-clinching win over Palace was the latest in a series of clinical displays that helped them secure their first league crown since 2010, with the Blues conceding just twice in their last six games and winning five of them.
Despite the results, Chelsea's style has come under scrutiny in recent weeks after Arsenal fans labelled them "boring" during a hard-fought 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium a fortnight ago.
Boring or not, Mourinho's side will be the envy of every team in England when they emerge from the tunnel and walk through Liverpool's guard of honour on Sunday, and the 52-year-old manager, a serial winner, will already have one eye on subjecting another team to enduring the same formality next season.
Recent form: WWWDWW
Liverpool
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It has been a rough couple of months for Liverpool, whose top-four ambitions took a hit having won just two of their last six league outings as Manchester United look poised to secure the fourth and final Champions League spot.
However, Brendan Rodgers's side can draw motivation from the fact that they will respect Chelsea with a guard of honour as they look to claw back United, who sit four points clear.
It promises to be an uncomfortable moment for the Reds. 12 months ago it could, and perhaps should, have been them being greeted with a guard of honour, but Steven Gerrard's now-infamous slip helped Chelsea to a 2-0 win at Anfield and their title bid faded from there, ultimately losing to Manchester City by a point.
This Sunday's meeting also promises to be particularly cruel for Gerrard, who not only has to applaud Chelsea for winning the one prize that he craved but failed to win, but the home fans are certain to remind the Los Angeles Galaxy-bound midfielder of that slip in the form of a song.
Mourinho claimed that he tried to sign the legendary captain on three occasions, and Gerrard can remind the Portuguese why he craved him at one point by inspiring Liverpool to one last big performance against an elite team. They need it.
Last week's 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers was their first victory in three games. They had lost 1-0 to Hull City in midweek, after drawing 0-0 at West Bromwich Albion. With United losing their last three games, those four points dropped have proven particularly damaging.
Recent form: LLWDLW
Team News
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Mourinho hinted in his pre-match press conference that he will not risk Diego Costa, whose hamstring injury has seen him miss more than a month.
Consequently, fit-again Loic Remy could lead the line against the club who he nearly joined last summer, with the Frenchman reportedly failing a medical.
Oscar will definitely miss the visit of Liverpool with a thigh injury that saw him omitted from Brazil's Copa America squad.
Mario Balotelli returned to training this week, having missed the win over QPR, and could earn a recall for the visit to West London.
Rocked by the news that Daniel Sturridge is out until September at the earliest, the goalscoring burden falls on Balotelli, and Liverpool will be desperate to see him improve on his solitary league goal in the next three games.
Lucas Leiva is in contention but Mamadou Sakho remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Fabregas, Matic; Willian, Cuadrado, Hazard; Remy
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Mignolet; Can, Skrtel, Lovren, Johnson; Gerrard, Allen, Henderson; Sterling, Coutinho, Ibe
Head To Head
The West Londoners have not tasted defeat against their Merseyside counterparts for seven games, when they lost 4-1 at Anfield in 2012.
Liverpool fared better in this fixture prior to Mourinho's return to England, winning five of seven before last season, but the Portuguese has helped wrestle the bragging rights over the last two years and knocked them out of the Capital One Cup at the semi-final stage in January.
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Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:
We say: Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool
There is little at stake for Chelsea other than pride, but that is enough for Mourinho to send his troops into battle with the same unrelenting hunger that saw them lead the title race virtually all season and they should have too much for Liverpool.
Shane Callaghan
