Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic: We must make our home advantage count against Liverpool

Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic believes his team must use their home advantage against Liverpool on Sunday to secure an important victory and reignite their season.

Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game

Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets!

Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25

Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200

Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20!

The Blues have suffered from a poor run of form recently, picking up only one victory in their last five fixtures, against Blackburn - which they won 1-0.

Ivanovic believes it was an essential win for the team at Ewood Park and insists his side must now build on that result.

He told the official Chelsea website: "The win at Blackburn was very important for us; it was a very good victory, and now we need to change the current situation.

"We need to close the gap, and we will do everything to win the game. It will be a very hard game but we will do our best.

"We have used a lot of rotation this season and, for the Blackburn game, I was playing at right-back having played for most of the season so far in the middle, but it was good for my confidence to create the goal. Personally, it was very nice, but the most important thing was obviously to win the match."

With Liverpool only three points behind Chelsea, the Serbian international knows the significance of this weekend’s match.

"Liverpool are a very strong team; they have a good attack and play quick football, so we need to be ready. We are at home, and we need to make that advantage count in order to close the gap at the top," he added.

"We always expect a difficult game after the international break, but this is a big match and we have to be ready to show the quality of our football, quality of our game and, most importantly, win the match."

The defender is not underestimating Liverpool’s attacking force, though, with the likes of Luis Suarez spearheading the Reds and believes the Blues must be strong at the back.

"Luis Suarez is a good player, of course, but it's not just him, they have a number of good attacking options and we will need to be at our best to stop them," he continued.

Ivanovic has a good record against Liverpool, including scoring a double against the Merseyside team in 2009 in the Champions League, earning his side a 3-1 victory having gone 2-0 down.

"Yes, the goals were very important for me, and it was obviously a great feeling to help us get the win," he says. "It's nice that people remember the goals, but the most important thing about it was the fact it helped us get an important win."