Chelsea have the motivation to match Liverpool’s, if not the mindset

Neither Chelsea nor Liverpool are going to take a casual, blase approach to tonight’s FA Cup tie. The teams may have some conflicting motivations, but even if the managers rotate it will still be with a win as the only goal.

Watford proved that Liverpool are vincible in the Premier League this weekend. Depending on how you look at it, that is either ideal timing or the worst possible timing for Chelsea. Watford’s win showed that it is possible for an English team to beat a Liverpool team not made up of teenagers. Chelsea now have a tactical blueprint as well as the confidence that comes simply from knowing that something can be done. They’re like the second, third and fourth men to run a sub-4:00 mile. Knowing the four-minute barrier wasn’t actually a barrier did as much for their attempts as their fitness levels.

On the other hand, Liverpool might be out for revenge, and the Blues are the sort of mentally weak and brittle team that will let Liverpool redirect the aggression and frustration they are feeling. Lesser teams than Liverpool have used Chelsea as punching bags this season.

Fortunately, Chelsea don’t have a yellow third kit this season, or Liverpool might very well see Ismailia Sarr and Troy Deeney – but without the guile and physicality – in every Chelsea player and make targets of them all.

A team that goes 27 league games without a loss, along with however many other streaks they were on until Saturday, is not one that crumbles after the first loss. They had many opportunities to have a mental lapse while amassing that record, and just because it’s over does not mean their mindset is not intact. The loss will impact Chelsea’s confidence more than Liverpool’s.

Liverpool still have the opportunity to win a treble this season, including a domestic double. They have not won the FA Cup since 2006, and have not had any kind of double since 2001. Jurgen Klopp’s mandate and mentality is to win, and that’s what they will be at Stamford Bridge to do.

Frank Lampard talked in his pre-match press conference about his team’s mindset and their need to work “together to solve issues” and “to find a solution on the pitch” when things go as they did against Bournemouth.

How he framed the problem is rather unique. He put the onus on the players to solve the problems within the game. Whereas his predecessors took it upon themselves – perhaps foolishly, perhaps fatally – to be the problem solvers and solution implementors, Lampard keeps himself in the facilitator role. He can teach them at training and talk to them at halftime, but the only way they will find a way to win the game, keep their place in the team, not get sold this summer and be part of future victories is to figure it out themselves.

This is good coaching, but it tests the club’s commitment to the long-term process they have started with him.

The FA Cup is Chelsea’s only (do we really need to asterisk and caveat that?) chance to win a trophy this season. The top-four finish is still the most important goal, but an FA Cup plus a top-four finish would make Lampard’s first season an unquestionable success. In terms of potential and tangible outcomes, the Blues have more reason to put more effort into this game than the return leg against Bayern Munich later this month.

Neither team will let this game go cheaply. Jurgen Klopp will want this game as much as any other and the Blues don’t have the luxury of a scheduling conflict with the Club World Cup. Simply to avoid embarrassment at the hands of the Premier League leaders, even if they are vincible, Chelsea need to play for the win.

Frank Lampard has more connection to the FA Cup than anyone on either side. Even if some lesser-seen players like Tino Anjorin or Kepa Arrizabalaga make an appearance, that won’t mean Lampard is letting this competition fall aside.