The 25-year-old played in our meeting with the Reds at Anfield at the start of the season, when the Blues defended solidly to earn a 1-1 draw, and although a back problem rendered him unavailable for the pulsating 2-2 rematch at the Bridge at the start of January, he knows fully what it will be like to be in the Chelsea rearguard this afternoon and what will be required.‘The first game, at Anfield, we got a red card quite early in the game and from then on, we just had to take the point,’ Christensen recalls. ‘In the second game we fought back [from 2-0 down] and I think we were unlucky not to win the game in the end.

‘So we are looking at ourselves and the performances that we've done against them and trying to take that on board for the next one. But at the same time, it's a final, somehow it feels a bit different in the game.

‘It's very hard to compare that to the league games and what we've played against them so far. A final is completely different, anything can happen, but it will be taken on board what have we done against them in the past.’

The includes when Chelsea have defended well against Jurgen Klopp’s outfit.

‘Liverpool come at you with energy, with their runs, and there's never-ending movement,’ Christensen notes.

‘I think we've found a good balance to do it as a back five, so you're not in it alone - not one-against-ones all the time.

‘You’ve always got someone backing up and that's important because Liverpool have a phenomenal front three who are dangerous all the time and never seem to get tired. For us, it's just about backing each other up and being there for each other. If you do all these one-against-ones, at some point you might slip up for one second and you can't afford that.’

Moving on to Chelsea’s own attack, our young Danish defender, from his place within the camp, finds it harder to see why Romelu Lukaku’s current form is such a big story.

‘I think when you're in it, you probably don't recognise it as much. I have played against Romelu so many times I know how difficult it is to do that.

‘I'm not really recognising it because I see what he does every day and I don't see any difference in his mood or whatever. We're still enjoying playing together in training, he kicks them in the top corner, he holds the ball up well, so for me it is hard to recognise all the talk about it.’

Looking even closer to home, Christensen believes his own form is now much closer to where it should have been earlier in his Chelsea career, which now spans 10 years.

‘I've been here for so long and there have been a lot of different managers as well. It's hard as a young player to prove yourself all the time but coming from the Academy, people knew me so well and the last couple years has probably been where I should have been the whole time, at a constant level.

‘That's probably my biggest flaw, that I wasn't consistent enough, but I feel like the last few seasons I’ve got that and it has been a lot better, for me personally and just being a part of what we are trying to do now is great.

‘Thomas came in, he knew me from Germany, and I got the idea quite early so it's just helped me massively. I had the space to do mistakes and still play the next games. Earlier I might have struggled to get back in the team after a mistake.

‘It’s helped my confidence and helped the team. He's given a lot of space, not just for me but for everyone just to do what they can, allowed to make mistakes. It happens, as long as we learn from them, and I think in that sense he's helped me a lot.’

Turning to the challenge immediately at hand today, despite having won the Champions League and the Club World Cup so recently, it has not dimmed Christensen’s hunger for the Carabao Cup final.

‘I feel like I’ve been in a lot of finals that we lost,’ he points out.

‘Now in a season like this it is very important for us to get this trophy. Right now we're not giving up in the Premier League but it looks a little bit far away. So for us this is a big opportunity to get another trophy.’