Uefa Champions League, semi-finals: Chelsea could be without one of their key players in tonight's first leg of their Champions League semi-final with Liverpool. Damien Duff is doubtful with a tight hamstring. As the others did some light training at Stamford Bridge yesterday, he was receiving treatment and emerged only later to exercise by himself.

With the exception of an FA Cup tie with Scunthorpe, the Dubliner has appeared in every fixture for the club since a Premiership game with Aston Villa on September 11th. Manager Jose Mourinho spoke yesterday of Chelsea's prolific scoring in a spell when Duff and Arjen Robben were both in the line-up.

If the worst comes to the worst he will have only one of them tonight. Robben, however, made his comeback from an ankle problem only on Saturday, and Mourinho, knowing he is not in condition to play a complete match, will have to decide whether to use him in the first half or introduce him as a substitute later.

Duff may reduce the dependence on Robben by proving his fitness today, and, in general, there is scant anxiety about the occasion. Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez can almost expect to be met with an embrace when he enters Chelsea's home tonight, even if he knows Mourinho will then try to squeeze the life out of the Liverpool manager's hopes.

There is a warmth between the men and it is a cause rather than a coincidence that two foreigners should deliver the first European Cup semi-final between English clubs. Mourinho, who loves to live up to the stereotype, is in the habit of saving the compliments for himself, but he makes an exception for the Spaniard.

In his eyes Benitez is "one of the best managers in the world".

The Portuguese, full of regard for the visitors, could have been accused of confusing the opposition by peppering them with compliments, but he was sincere. Mourinho has asserted that Liverpool could find no one superior to Benitez even if there should be an absence of trophies under him.

He will, of course, be striving to turn a hypothetical situation into a fact. Chelsea have denied Benitez the English League Cup and are now aiming to shepherd them out of the Champions League, but in this competition it is not so easy to force Liverpool off course.

"I believe that English teams have to adapt to European football in certain matches," Mourinho said. "English managers are very good but maybe my (expertise) and Rafael's is in playing these ties in a more tactical way. It helps a little. The way Liverpool performed at Juventus shows clearly the way a team can be organised to get the result it needs."

The Chelsea manager feels there could be a reflective tone this evening that contrasts with the impulsiveness of a Premiership game. The comparison he makes is with this season's League Cup tie with Manchester United, which began with a considered goalless draw at Stamford Bridge and culminated in a Chelsea victory at Old Trafford.

Mourinho described the mentality he seeks in the squad: "No panic. And don't play the first game thinking we have to get a result at home. If we don't win, we can win the second game. Just try and get the best possible result. After the game I will be very cool, irrespective of the result."

Yesterday he was in good humour. Reminded that he had described himself as "a special one" last year, he put the self-aggrandisement down to the fact that he had just won the Champions League with Porto.

Asked about his present level of self-satisfaction, Mourinho continued with his comic turn by replying that his ego now is "even higher".

He was ready to employ any means to distract from the burdensome significance of these games with Liverpool. Mourinho could retain the Champions League with a new club and add it to a personal honour roll that also features the 2003 Uefa Cup.

All the same, he is more sensitive to the circumstances of the Chelsea players than to his record. The manager spoke of the wretchedness some of them had experienced when being knocked out needlessly by Monaco at the same stage in the Champions League a year ago.

It is also his view that Benitez' squad ought to be entitled to defend the Champions League should they win it, even if they do not qualify for next season's tournament. Chelsea may well be capable of making that knotty issue academic. It would undoubtedly be the first favour Mourinho has done Uefa.