"We would teach them how to defend"

Chelsea return to Anfield on Saturday seven months after wrecking the Kop's title dream, with Jose Mourinho's players promising a lesson in how to handle the pressure of title race.

A prickly media exchange between Mourinho and Brendan Rodgers, friends and colleagues turned foes, followed the clash last April when the Liverpool boss accused the Londoners of 'parking two buses' and said it was 'not difficult' to coach a team to defend in numbers.

Rodgers eventually sent a conciliatory message to his former mentor, but he must have been bruised by the defeat. Perhaps, in some ways, his team are still feeling the effects. They have won only seven of 18 since.

Steven Gerrard's slip allowed Demba Ba to race through and score the opening goal in a 2-0 victory

Ba's strike changed the complexion of the game and allowed Chelsea to pick Liverpool off on the counter

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With the defeat Liverpool blew their big chance to win a Premier League title for the first time since 1990 

And Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic has stoked the fires again ahead of Saturday lunchtime's re-run, with an apparent jibe at Liverpool's attitude after last season's encounter.

'Nobody's happy when you lose a game and they weren't happy after that game,' said Matic. 'Many teams have tried to park the bus in front of the goal against us, but we win. It's not easy. If you defend you have to know how to defend. It was 2-0. We showed we have quality.'

Liverpool were top of the Barclays Premier League in April, closing in on a first title since 1990, when Mourinho sent out a weakened team in a fixture which preceded a Champions League semi-final.

It was a clash laced with enmity, with Chelsea upset the game had not been moved to help their preparations for Atletico Madrid and Rodgers angry with Mourinho's defensive tactics.

This time, the Londoners are top of the league, unbeaten in 17 games this season and confident they can extend that against a Liverpool team, which has spluttered since they sold Luis Suarez.

'It is a different story,' said Matic. 'We are ready. We are first and we want to stay there. We will play a different way and I'm very happy because we will play one big game on Saturday.

Chelsea will be full strength, without distractions. They will adopt different tactics and are determined not to stumble as Liverpool did in April. 

'It was three games to go, they were fighting for the title and they wanted to win,' said Branislav Ivanovic. They struggled in a must-win. Last season was completely different.

'Now we are going there on top of the table. We know it's difficult but also our team knows how to win there. It will be very exciting. We know what we have to do. We have a lot of things to do to be successful and get points from Anfield.'

'We know what we have to do,' says Ivanovic (left) as Chelsea prepare to face Liverpool on Saturday

This is a fierce modern rivalry which first emerged from the sparring between Mourinho and Rafa Benitez a decade ago and has been well and truly reignited by that clash in April, when Chelsea's second string halted an 11-match winning streak, stunned Anfield and opened the door for Manchester City to be champions.

Steven Gerrard's slip for the first goal, scored by Demba Ba, now features in a popular song and Suarez has stirred emotions by writing in his book that one Chelsea player had told him he was ashamed of Mourinho's time-wasting tactics.

Ivanovic would not address the Suarez allegations when asked, after the draw in Maribor on Wednesday.

Luis Suarez left a mark on last season's clash - saying one Chelsea player was ashamed of Mourinho's tactics

The atmosphere will sizzle on Saturday lunchtime. Liverpool are 12 points adrift of their visitors after 10 games but will take great satisfaction if they can end Chelsea's unbeaten start to this campaign.

Complaints have been rumbling inside Stamford Bridge as Liverpool have enjoyed an extra day to recover from a European away game, when Rodgers rested first-team players in a 1-0 defeat at Real Madrid.

Mourinho's squad returned from a 1-1 draw against Maribor, in Slovenia, in the early hours of Thursday morning and will fly to Merseyside after training on Friday but the players have their minds fixed on another positive result.

'It's one of the massive, crucial games for us,' said Ivanovic. 'For this kind of game you always have to find extra motivation and it's not about the tightness or fitness.

'We have two days to recover, this is usual and it's not our first time to play that. We know and we are professional, and we have to do a lot of things to be ready for that game.'