Tomorrow will see one of the biggest game's of Jose Mourinho's illustrious career, as he takes charge of his beloved Chelsea with the pressure on more than ever before; the Special One has never needed a win so much.
Taking on another giant of the footballing world, in the form of Liverpool, will not be an easy task though and Mourinho is well aware of the threats they can pose, especially with new manager Jurgen Klopp in charge, who he admitted he has great respect for.
Mourinho spoke to the world's press today ahead of the game, and despite the growing tension surrounding his position at the Blues, he remained calm and collected in his attempts to reassure people that Chelsea will soon be back to their best.
Injury News
Facing Liverpool is never an easy thing to do, despite their questionable start to the season Mourinho is well aware the club have great talent and knows he will need to field his strongest eleven to get the job done.
But he will be forced to make several changes as his side are dealt a blow through injuries, the boss confirmed that both Thibaut Courtois and Branislav Ivanovic will be unavailable for the game.
This will mean that Asmir Begovic maintains his position in goal with Kurt Zouma likely to continue filling in at right-back for the injured vice-captain, but Mourinho remained hopefully about his other potentially injured players.
Both Diego Costa and Pedro are heading into tomorrow as doubts, but will face late fitness tests in a big to boost the Chelsea squad and increases the options Mourniho has.
When asked about their fitness, Mourinho thought positively, telling the press, "I am a little hopeful, if not I wouldn’t take them to the hotel and go for a last test."
New Contracts
There has been some positive news this week for Chelsea fans, as midfielder Ramires signed a four year contract extension, securing him as a Chelsea player until at least 2019.
The Brazillian opted to extending his time in London, despite having received interest from Real Madrid and PSG, the midfielder told Chelsea's club website about his happiness over the new deal, "I’m extremely happy and it means my work here is being appreciated, which is nice."
Mourinho, who also renewed his contract to 2019 earlier on in the season told the media why he was pleased at the club's decision to extend Ramires' deal, "He’s one of these guys that every manager loves and I am happy the club recognized he deserves that [the new contract]"
Ramires is not necessarily the first name on the team sheet every week, but Mourinho recognized that as one of his main traits, "He is a player that is ready to play, to be on the bench, to be in the stands, to play as a midfielder or a goalkeeper or a striker."
Often a player who is overlooked and not spoke of such high regards like team mates, Eden Hazard or Willian, but always put in fantastic effort, and his pace and stamina make him one of Chelsea's best workhorses, which is exactly what they need right now.
Crucial Game
With the focus fully on tomorrow's fixture, Mourinho never wavered in his confidence that his side could get the job done against one of the club's biggest rivals, but spoke highly of Klopp, who is clearly not a rival of the Special Ones.
Mourinho had only good things to say about Klopp during the press conference, "We have a good relationship, and as a manager his work speaks and in spite of the last season to forget, I consider him one of the top managers in Europe."
But even though he never let on, Mourinho will know only too well the reason's why former manager, Brendan Rodgers was terminated as he now sits in a very similar position to his former Chelsea coaching staff member.
He was quick to recognize the work of Rodgers, the man who Mourinho guided and trained during his first spell with Chelsea, "Everything is the same. They have changed some details obviously in their tactical approach, but this is the nature of the game"
Given that Mourinho believes everything is the 'same', he must have been impressed with Rodgers's work as he praised the abilities of his opponents, "They were a good team, they are a good team. They had good players, they have good players."
But even with the belief that his side can go out and get the three points he so desperately needs, Mourinho confessed he can't promise a top four finish, stating that "I can not promise" when asked about the possibility.
Out of all the comments, that will be the one that set the alarm bells ringing in Chelsea fan's ears, whilst it wouldn't see the end to Chelsea's time as an 'elite' club (Manchester United and Liverpool have both survived without Champions League), it could see a bitter end to Mourinho's tenure as manager.