Chelsea defender Ivanovic warns team ahead of their tie against Liverpool

Ahead of Chelsea’s away encounter against Liverpool on Saturday, defender Branislav Ivanovic spoke to reporters stating that the team has to focus if they are to take away all the three points from Anfield.

Chelsea are coming off from a 1-1 draw in the Champions League against Maribor and the Serbian insists that another lacklustre of a performance from the Blues could cost them heavily this weekend.

"We know how our performance has to be to get the points from Liverpool away," he was quoted by Sky Sports. "I think if we play against Liverpool as we played against Maribor, we know it is not possible. Of course, this was a warning to the team and this is good.”

"We should have finished the group, but now it's too late and we have to think about the next games in the Champions League," he adds. "We still have two days to recover - this is normal," Ivanovic said. "It's not the first time we have had to do that. We are professional and have to do a lot of things to be ready for that game.”

"It's massive - one of the crucial games for us. For this kind of game, you always have to find extra motivation and it's not about tiredness or fitness," he concluded.

Liverpool are coming into the match from a 1-0 defeat against Real Madrid while Chelsea are yet to see a loss in the Premier League.