‘Chelsea’s trip to Liverpool could be decisive in race for fourth place’

Jamie Carragher believes the race for the fourth Champions League spot will go down to the wire – and could hinge on Chelsea’s trip to Anfield at the end of the season.

Liverpool are currently in sixth place in the Premier League table, four points behind Chelsea in fourth.

And with such small margins separating the sides competing for a top-four finish, Carragher, 34, is convinced that Chelsea’s trip to Merseyside in the second to last game of the season in May could well prove decisive.

“The situation will change all the way between now and May,” Carragher told Liverpool’s website. “At times we’ve been in there, at times we’ve been out of it. We’ve just got to stay within touching distance and focus on ourselves.

“We’ve got Chelsea at home towards the end of the season and hopefully that game will prove to be vital.

“Some people thought there might be a come down in the performance at Wolves after the games against the Manchester clubs.

“But the lads came out fighting against a team fighting for their lives and it was a great performance.”

Liverpool host high-flying Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Monday night, and the centre-half admits he has be left impressed by Harry Redknapp’s side this season.

“Spurs have probably been the most impressive team in the league for me this season,” he said.

“I know they aren’t top but they’re great to watch. They play great football, very fast paced and they certainly showed that against us at White Hart Lane. That was our biggest defeat of the season and something we want to rectify.

“The game changed a bit towards the end when we were down to nine men and the scoreline flattered them to a certain extent but they played really well that day. We didn’t start well enough and they caught us out.

“They also won at Anfield towards the end of last season. That’s probably in the mind as much as anything. We realise we’re playing against one of the best teams in the league and it’s going to be very difficult. But we have proved in the last two home games, against the two teams above Tottenham, that we’re more than a match for anyone in the country.”