The most repeated duel of the modern Champions League will be rescued from monotony by small details. It may take a magnifying glass to detect them, but here’s one – the new head coach of Chelsea, Guus Hiddink, regards the meeting as a personal novelty. He seemed almost surprised to point out that, in the 21 years since he first negotiated home and away ties in the most demanding of club competitions, he had yet to do so at Anfield.

Hiddink’s last experience of the place was as Holland’s manager, when he unleashed a brilliant young Dutch team there in a European Championship playoff against Ireland. Lest that be read as any sort of omen, his opposite number, Rafael Benitez, felt sceptical that a new man in charge meant Chelsea would be more swashbuckling in this rerun of a tie that is mostly characterised by narrow margins, grinding stalemates and a fair degree of needle. Benitez said he admired Hiddink but added that he had been so long in the game that to cast him in the same light as the coach who guided PSV Eindhoven to the European Cup in 1988 would be simplistic.

“Some years ago he was using the Dutch style, which was attacking, and it was successful,” remarked Benitez. “Now he has more experience.” The tenor of Chelsea-Liverpool, Part V, would be “more or less the same”, insisted the Liverpool manager. In Europe, the record, just, favours Benitez’s team. Of the eight meetings over the past five years in the Champions League, Liverpool and Chelsea have won two matches each; in the three semi-finals between them, Liverpool progressed twice and Chelsea once.

If Benitez’s sound reputation in the competition is unnaturally concentrated on the outcome of fixtures against Chelsea, 62-year-old Hiddink’s relationship with the European Cup is far wider. When he embarked on his managerial odyssey, the tournament was all two-legged ties, and it was open only to reigning domestic champions or the holders of the trophy. In the 1980s, mind, the format promoted the sort of cautious, tense contests that Liverpool and Chelsea regularly reproduce in the new millennium. In 1988 Hiddink’s PSV were cussed victors over Real Madrid in the semi-finals and crabby finalists against Benfica. They won the trophy on penalties.

That was how Chelsea lost to Liverpool in the semi-final of 2007 and to Manchester United in the final last May. Compatriot meetings, like the all-Italian final of 2003, have a habit of ending that way. None of the red-against-blue Champions League meetings so far has been decided by more than one goal margin. Last April’s 3-2 at Stamford Bridge was the first time a 90 minutes had included more than two goals. But did Liverpool’s impressive recent form against heavyweight clubs – five goals on aggregate against Real Madrid, four more at Old Trafford – encourage Benitez to believe in a wider gap after 180 (or 210) minutes on April 14? It did not. “I think it will be as close as the last ties,” said Benitez, “because it’s at a stage of the competition where it’s very important and the managers have to be aware of everything, so the games will be very close.”

Go back to the beginning of the Liverpool-Chelsea saga, and Hiddink can hardly help but be reminded of how close the climax of the Champions League turned out to be in the 2004-5 season. Liverpool reached the final thanks to the “phantom” goal by Luis Garcia against Chelsea in one semi-final and went on to win the final against AC Milan on penalties after a 3-3 draw. The other semi-final had also set the tone for a final chapter of cliffhangers, comebacks and close finishes. Hiddink’s PSV were very nearly Liverpool’s opponents that night. After Milan had defeated PSV 2-0 at the San Siro, their semi-final went into an extraordinary last half-hour in Holland. A Park Ji-Sung goal after nine minutes had revived PSV’s prospects. When the veteran Philip Cocu scored a second, 20 minutes into the second half, it was 2-2 on aggregate and extra time beckoned.

Cue Massimo Ambrosini’s 89th-minute header for 3-2 to Milan and sympathy across Europe for a PSV who had held the upper hand for perhaps the majority of the tie. Cocu struck again for 3-3 to make stoppage time excruciatingly nervous for Milan. The Italians only made it to Istanbul on the basis of the away goals rule.

The next year – the last in Hiddink’s second spell in Eindhoven – was less glorious in Europe. PSV were thrashed 4-0 by Olympique Lyonnais in the last 16. His return to the competition, as caretaker at Chelsea, brought victory over Juventus earlier this month, and the encouraging returns to fitness of Michael Essien and to form of Didier Drogba. If Chelsea have an answer to Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, the nearest thing may be the two West Africans.

Benitez, not the first time, cited his captain and centre-forward as essential to Liverpool’s immediate targets. “They could be crucial for us because you cannot find many clubs with strikers of that quality. Now Fernando is fully fit and he is sharp. It will be difficult to rest Torres and Gerrard now. If they are fit, normally they have to play every game.”

The winners of Liverpool-Chelsea will meet Barcelona or Bayern Munich, fomer employers of Michael Ballack, a man with his own unfinished Champions League business, having been twice on the losing side in finals – with Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen.

The signposts set out on the road to Rome have stirred in Benitez a familiar sensation that the Premier League leaders, Manchester United, had again enjoyed the rub of the green. “Clearly our side of the draw is more difficult,” said Benitez. “So it is clear to me that United are favourites now. It will be more difficult for us, but if we go to the final, it will be a better achievement. It makes it easier for United that Liverpool and Chelsea are playing each other. United are favourites now in the Champions League because of the draw and favourites in the Premier League because they are in a better position than us. They have an advantage. But the atmosphere has been very good in the squad since we beat them.”

Liverpool v Chelsea: here we go again

THE STORY SO FAR

2007-08 SEMI-FINAL
Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1 Chelsea 3 Liverpool 2

2006-07 SEMI-FINAL
Chelsea 1 Liverpool 0 Liverpool 1 Chelsea 0 (Liverpool on pens)

2005-06 GROUP STAGE
Liverpool 0 Chelsea 0 Chelsea 0 Liverpool 0

2004-05 SEMI-FINAL
Chelsea 0 Liverpool 0 Liverpool 1 Chelsea 0

LIVERPOOL PEDIGREE

European Cups 5 English titles 18 Premier League pos 3 Coach Rafael Benitez

CHELSEA PEDIGREE

European Cups 0 English titles 3 Premier League pos 2 Coach Guus Hiddink

Liverpool and Chelsea have met in the Champions League on eight previous occasions. Both sides have emerged victorious twice and have shared four draws

Liverpool have lifted the European Cup five times while Chelsea have never won it.

However, new Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink achieved the feat with PSV in 1988

Neither side has claimed an away victory against the other in this competition

When these two met at Stamford Bridge last year, five goals flew in, as many as in their previous seven Champions League meetings

Only once in the past four seasons have Liverpool not reached the semi-finals. In 11 CL games against English opposition, including last year’s final, Chelsea have won just three times

BARCELONA CLASS CAN HALT ENGLISH JUGGERNAUT

Ian Hawkey, European football correspondent, forecasts that Barcelona captain Carles Puyol will be celebrating in Rome on May 27. Last year, Hawkey was spot on with three semi-finalists, both finalists and the winners

MAN UTD v PORTO (APR 7 & 15) Having overcome Inter Milan in the last 16, holders United have got lucky. Porto were the most straightforward rival left Odds Man Utd 2/1, Porto 40/1

VILLARREAL v ARSENAL (APR 7 & 15) Arsenal’s superior striking power should edge out the Spaniards in a close tie Odds Villarreal 28/1, Arsenal 8/1

BARCELONA v BAYERN MUNICH (APR 8 & 14) Hard to go against Barça, the most exciting team in Europe. Barcelona have flaws but they have the means to compensate for them in abundance. Catalans to progress Odds Barcelona 9/4, Bayern Munich 14/1

LIVERPOOL v CHELSEA (APR 8 & 14) Provided Torres and Gerrard stay fit, Liverpool should do enough in the first leg to take the tie. Odds Liverpool 7/1, Chelsea 5/1

SEMI-FINAL 1 (APR 28 & MAY 6)
Barcelona can avenge the 2006-07 defeat by Liverpool, being less error-prone these days

SEMI-FINAL 2 (APR 29 & MAY 5)
United have more distractions than Arsenal but over 180 minutes, United’s strength will tell

FINAL (MAY 27, ROME) BARCELONA v UNITED
Cristiano Ronaldo’s final last year, probably Leo Messi’s turn this. Barcelona have the players to test United at the back. Barcelona to win