Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho: Diego Costa and Eden Hazard to start in Liverpool League Cup clash

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed Nemanja Matic, Branislav Ivanovic, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard will regain their places in his starting line-up for the second leg of the League Cup semi-final against Liverpool on Tuesday 26 January.

The Chelsea quintet have been crucial for Mourinho during the first part of the campaign but did not start the humiliating FA Cup match against League One side Bradford City.

After the Blues secured a 1-1 draw in the first-leg, which was played at Anfield, the Portuguese boss confirmed the five stars will return to his line-up with the hope they can help the Blues secure the qualification to the League Cup final.

"My team selections always have a relation to performances in training and performance in matches, so I analyse the Bradford game well and see which players deserve more to play, but obviously I rested some with the intention to play against Liverpool," Mourinho said.

"It is easy to understand that Matic, Ivanovic, Diego Costa, Fabregas and Hazard, these players are going to play."

The Chelsea manager has urged his squad to put the disappointing defeat against Bradford behind them with a victory over Brendan Rodgers' side.

"It is a semi-final second leg, a knockout game, live or die, against a very good team, and maybe that pushes us to a good level of concentration and motivation that maybe we couldn't reach against Bradford," Mourinho said.

"The fans want to go to Wembley and it is the same with me and the players. After such a disappointment I think everybody wants more now, because the only domestic knockout cup we can win is the Capital One Cup.

"At this moment, we have a lot to play for – the Liverpool game, the Premier League and the Champions League and we have enough motivation to carry on."

Mourinho believes the 1-1 draw secured at Anfield was a positive result although he says Chelsea should have scored more goals.

"The team had discipline, very good individual and collective commitment and effort. Liverpool played well, especially in the second half, and the result is a positive result in a two-legged semi-final," he said.

"I was frustrated because Liverpool give a lot of space, they played with three defenders, the full-backs were wide, there was lots of space to play and we could hurt them much more than we did there."