Andy Myers’ men can move clear of the relegation zone with a positive result against the Merseyside team, who we have already beaten this season.

After a mature performance against Leeds United at Stamford Bridge last week, which saw us win 1-0, and a 1-1 draw against West Ham United the week before, our young Blues will have their set sights set on building on their positive results in the last two games.

A big reason for their four points in the last two games has been the return of Ballo, who scored our goals against both West Ham and Leeds.

The young Austrian spent the first half of the season on loan at Rapid Vienna, where he made 13 appearances, including three in the Europa League, before returning to Chelsea at the end of January. He spoke to us on what he learnt from his time there and how he is working hard to make the most out of what has been a stop-start season for him.

Main focus

'I'm very happy to come back to the club that I love and contribute straight away but I am more focused on playing as much as possible,' he said.

'My main motivation is to play as many games as possible as that is the only way I can continue to improve.'

Ballo made 13 appearances during his brief stint back in his homeland and highlighted some key attributes that he would like to improve.

'I want to work on improving my strength, as playing in such a competitive league you realise that everyone there is so strong,' he explained.

'As well as that, the concentration levels are so high. You need to be attentive for the whole 90 minutes as teams are very quick to punish mistakes at that level.'

Captain’s influence

Ballo re-joined Myers’ men at a pivotal time in the season, with relegation a real possibility. The Austrian Under-21 international spoke about how the squad harmony and togetherness will go a long way in keeping us in the top division, as well as the reassuring influence of current captain Bashir Humphreys.

'All the coaches trust us to follow their instructions and get the job done,' he added. 'We face many challenges in matches and we use our chemistry to figure out these tough situations.

'I believe Bashir helps a lot because he is a presence, he leads by example on the pitch and that helps the team. He is a key member of this squad and we are lucky to have him.'

Liverpool test

A win against Liverpool, who are unbeaten in their last four, will give the squad a lot of confidence in the run-in towards the end of the season. There are five more games to play after this, with the Blues currently two points off safety.

'The last two weeks have been good weeks and the key is that everyone sticks together and believes in the abilities that we all have so we get three points,' continued Ballo.

'It is true that the international break might have been a little inconvenient considering our form, but we want to prove to everyone that we deserve to be in this league and the only way we can do that is by winning games.'

Liverpool vs Chelsea takes place at the Kirkby Academy today (Saturday), with kick-off slated for 12noon.