Chelsea v Liverpool - to decide the runners-up to Manchester United in Moscow

So here we have it – the game that will decide which club will join Manchester United in an all-English Champions League final.

A match that pits Red against Blue, the American multi millionaires against the Russian multi billionaire, the club that is having vicious squabbles in the boardroom versus the club that had a huge postprandial melee on their pitch; but all this surely makes it sound far too exciting.

In reality what we are witnessing are Ebeneezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley bickering over who will make it to Moscow. This isn’t going to be a goal orgy, it isn’t even going to be as pleasing to the eye as the two legs of Manchester United against Barcelona with their “passing carousel”.

Chelsea v Liverpool will be the match that effectively crowns the runner-up, because neither of these snooze merchants will surely succumb to the Lord of the Ferg and his sparkling team. Stripped of Wayne Rooney and Nemenja Vidic, United were pushed through to the final courtesy of a long range outswinger from Paul Scholes, and they will be ready and waiting for the winner from tonight's Stamford Bridge encounter.