As Liverpool loom later this afternoon, both Ricardo Carvalho and Florent Malouda insist we must take the opportunity to show our title credentials.

With the season approaching a quarter complete, we sit atop the Premier League alongside our Merseyside rivals on 20 points, eight points better off than at this point last season.

Confidence is high in both squads, and Carvalho believes now is the time to show our strength.

'We play at home and they are having a good time as well, so it will be difficult for us, it always is against Liverpool but we have to think to get three points, keep working, keep a clean sheet and score goals,' the defender said.

'They are going well, so if they keep going it will be difficult for us, but we are confident. In the last four or five years we are fighting always for the title.

'Last year our start was bad and we had problems. This year we started well with results and are top of the league. They are more consistent than last year but it is still too early to speak, after eight games.'

Ricardo Carvalho strides forward

Rafa Benitez's side have developed a habit this season of coming from behind to win games, demonstrated against Middlesbrough, Manchesters United and City and most recently Wigan.

The Chelsea pair have been impressed. 'They are winning games - sometimes you need also luck and they got a bit lucky in some games, scoring last minute, but they believed and deserved it also,' Carvalho said.

'Liverpool is a very good team, they have a good coach and you can see in the beginning of the season they have a really good spirit,' Malouda began.

'The last game I saw they were so close to defeat, and maybe in five or ten minutes changed everything. It shows they have the spirit and the quality to be close to the title.

'But we have the same target and are trying to be champions, so it is a good occasion for us to show our ambition.'

After 20 meetings in four seasons, Chelsea versus Liverpool matches tend to be tight affairs, with sheer familiarity cancelling out either side's advantage, creating a tight tactical battle.

'They are tactical games, and the team who doesn't make mistakes wins. What is good is that we don't concede a lot of goals so it is always good and at home we have the quality to score goals. We have to do it and do it again until the end of the season,' Malouda stressed.

Malouda celebrates at Middlesbrough

The winger was linked with a move to Anfield before José Mourinho came calling in the summer of 2007. He has said it before, but again, the 28-year-old explained that when he knew Chelsea were interested, there was only one destination for him.

'I had so many friends here that my choice was made. I had contact with them but it was my choice to come here because I knew this club better than Liverpool,' he said.

After finishing his first season empty-handed, Malouda is eager to get his hands on some silverware this time around.

Three points against Liverpool will be a step in the right direction, and by May he will be hoping not to have to rely on stories from his team-mates like Carvalho to discover how it feels to lift in a trophy in Chelsea blue.