Three things Liam Rosenior can expect from first Chelsea home match vs Arsenal
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Liam Rosenior will stand on the touchline as Chelsea head coach for the first time at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
There aren't many bigger games for a manager to face than a semi-final against a London rival, which is exactly what awaits Rosenior when Arsenal make the trip across the capital for the 1st leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
After managing his first game for Chelsea on Saturday in a 5-1 win over Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup, Rosenior will take his first home game against Mikel Arteta's side.
Chelsea will be looking to take a lead to the Emirates for the 2nd leg next month as a spot in March's final at Wembley awaits the winner of the tie, which will see them face either Manchester City or Newcastle United.
"These are the games we all want to be involved in," previewed Rosenior in his pre-match programme notes. "We have to enjoy this night, to go into it with intensity and purpose, and to reflect the values we intend to stand for, and which every great Chelsea side over the years has embodied."
Rosenior will be desperate to claim victory to secure back-to-back wins in his opening two games at head coach. But it will be far from straight-forward.
Absolute Chelsea takes a look at three things Rosenior can expect from Wednesday night's tie at Stamford Bridge.
A positive reception from the Chelsea fans
Rosenior received a positive reception when meeting the Chelsea fans who travelled to The Valley for the win over Charlton in the FA Cup.
The 41-year-old would have heard the chants of 'Liam, Liam!' when walking away from the supporters at full-time after soaking up the atmosphere and offer their appreciation following their progression into the fourth round.
"To the supporters, I want to say thank you for the reception you've given me," Rosenior wrote in the Chelsea programme.
"It was great to go over and show our appreciation to those of you who were in the away end at The Valley on Saturday. Our aim is to win for you all. I want our fans to be proud of who we are and what we represent in every single game that we play.
"I know how special this club is and we want to create an environment where everyone enjoys what they do, and I hope that will be reflected in our performances."
He will no doubt experience the same at Stamford Bridge, with the crowd readying for another big lights under the lights.
Set-piece threats from Arsenal
One of Arsenal's key strengths is from set-pieces, and it showed in their FA Cup victory over Portsmouth. Chelsea also managed to score from several set-pieces against Charlton. Who will come out on top on Wednesday night?
With Arsenal's defence extremely difficult to breakdown, Chelsea will need to ensure their dead ball situations are perfect, in both the defensive and attacking phases.
However, Rosenior has shut down the notion that Arsenal are 'Set-Piece FC' and believes they are just a 'very good' side under Arteta.
"Arsenal are good at everything," said Rosenior. "They're good at everything. They have a good team. It's not about taking the game back in time. You have to manage your 1 per cent to be as good a team to win as many different ways as possible. I respect them. I think they'll respect us, we're a good team as well.
"But no, people can talk. I don't know who's calling them Set-Piece FC. I'm definitely not. I think they're a team who are very good without the ball. I think they have a really, really clear idea in the way they want to play with the ball.
"On top of that, they're very, very well organised with good deliveries on set-pieces. That's what you want to be if you want to be successful. That's the idea for every coach."
Pressure ramps up on Rosenior
Whether Rosenior will admit it or not, or feel it, the pressure is on and he will certainly feel it on Wednesday.
Chelsea are facing Arsenal, who are favourites to win the Premier League, in a semi-final and they have to return to the Emirates for the second leg. It is imperative the Blues get it spot on to ensure they remain in the tie.
"I think people will look at it that way," responded the Chelsea head coach over Wednesday's clash being one of the biggest games of his managerial career so far.
"People will look at it that way. I don't see it that way. I think every session that I take, every meeting that I take, every game that we play is the most important thing. I live in the now. It is the most important game because it's the next one. I mean that."
Only time will tell come when Simon Hooper blows the full-time whistle on Wednesday night. But Rosenior is beaming with confidence and it will be a case of whether the new head coach and his side can overcome the pressured stakes and deliver a knockout performance to put them one step away from another final.
Matt Debono leads the editorial team which covers Chelsea On SI. He has witnessed Chelsea win it all, whilst also featuring on ITV News, SPORTbible and various other publications.