Blues ready for ‘bogey team’ Reds

Today Man City vs Tottenham 15:30 SS3 Newcastle vs West Ham 17:00 SS5 Chelsea vs Liverpool 18:00 SS3LONDON - Roberto Di Matteo admits Liverpool have become Chelsea’s “bogey team” ahead of the visit of Brendan Rodgers’ side to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.The importance of maintaining the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester United will inevitably provide a more powerful incentive to the Blues, but Di Matteo’s side are also anxious to end a run of four straight league defeats against the Anfield club.Chelsea savoured success by beating Liverpool in last season’s FA Cup final, but with the current title race threatening to be a tight, three-way battle between the Blues, United and Manchester City, league points are now the immediate priority.Manager Di Matteo said: “They are our bogey team. They seem always to play exceptionally well against us and get results. It is always difficult and very difficult to beat them.“It hasn’t happened too often in the last three years. We have to be aware of that and be very focused and try to play a very good game.Di Matteo’s desire to reverse the recent trend will be shared by Fernando Torres who has yet to score against his former club since his £50 million move in January 2011.Torres is certain to start but John Terry’s inclusion on his return from a four-match domestic ban is far from guaranteed after Di Matteo’s decision to leave the Chelsea captain on the bench against Shakhtar.Liverpool manager Rodgers is more concerned with the threat offered by Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and Oscar who have provided Chelsea with a different attacking dimension this season.Rodgers’ side have only managed two Premier League wins in their 10 matches so far this season and the Reds already trail Sunday’s opponents by 13 points.But the manager, who rested nine players for the 1-0 defeat to Anzhi in the Europa Leauge, maintains there is nothing to fear in the trip to London.He said “Chelsea are very dynamic, they’re great technicians. They have three No 10s in their team really. “They have Oscar, (Eden) Hazard and (Juan) Mata and we know the danger that they possess between them.