Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic says they have to seriously up their game if they are to get a result at Anfield on Saturday.

Blues stuttered to a 1-1 draw in the Champions League at Maribor on Wednesday night, and the Serbian admitted they need to do a lot better when they travel to Liverpool for tomorrow’s lunchtime kick off.

He said: “We will have had two days to recover. This is usual and not our first time to do that.

“We know, and we are professional. We have to do a lot of things to be ready for that game.

“I think it is massive – I think it is one of the crucial games for us, and for this kind of game you always have to find extra motivation. It is not about the tightness (of the recovery time) or the fitness.”

Last season Blues derailed Liverpool’s championship hopes with a 2-0 win at Anfield, but Ivanovic says this weekend’s game will be far removed from that.

“I think the game last season was completely different,” he added. “This one was three games to go, they are fighting for to be champions and they struggled to win this game they must win.

“But now the situation is different. We are top of the table. We are going there and we know how difficult it is to play at Anfield.

“But also our team knows how to win there. I think it will be a very exciting game for both sides, but we know what we have to do. We have a lot of things to do to be successful and to get points from Anfield.

“We know how our performance has to be to get the points from Liverpool away. I think if we play against Liverpool as we played (in Maribor), we know it is not possible.”

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