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Capital One Cup: Phil Babb fears Bradford defeat could fire up Chelsea for Liverpool semi-final

Petr Cech can can only watch as he's beaten by Bradford's Jonathan Stead
Image: Petr Cech: Conceded four goals against Bradford on Saturday

Chelsea's shock defeat to Bradford could be bad news for Liverpool at Stamford Bridge tonight, according to Phil Babb.

That stunning FA Cup upset ended any notion of a domestic treble Jose Mourinho had already dismissed as "too difficult", but his side could book a date in the season's first major cup final this evening.

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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says he hopes his side are motivated for Capital One Cup semi-final against Liverpool

Chelsea go into the second leg of their League Cup semi-final level at 1-1 with Liverpool, who failed to turn their overall dominance at Anfield last week into a first-leg lead.

And former Liverpool defender Babb told Sky Sports News HQ's Morning View Mourinho will not stand for a second cup exit in the space of four days.

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"It's always difficult to play Chelsea," he said. "But particularly after that result which shocked the football world.

"They're a wounded tiger - Jose will have those boys pumped up for tonight, and he will not expect anything other than a victory. He'll have the big-hitters back as well - he rested nine at the weekend, so it's going to be a formidable task for Liverpool, that's for sure."

Liverpool were less than convincing in their own FA Cup tie at the weekend as Championship Bolton held them to a goalless draw on Merseyside.

Babb said: "They just weren't firing on any cylinders. Maybe they had one eye on tonight's fixture, but you'd expect Liverpool - after the confidence they took from the Chelsea game - to come through that tie convincingly.

"But they couldn't score, and that worries me ahead of tonight's game."

Watch Chelsea v Liverpool live on Sky Sports 1 from 7pm tonight.

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