Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has said the experience of giving Premier League champions Liverpool a guard of honour ahead of kick-off on Sunday can inspire his team.
Liverpool clinched the Premier League title with a 5-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur last weekend and Arne Slot's side will be entitled to a guard of honour from their opponents as they walk out onto the pitch before the game begins for the rest of their matches this season.
A guard of honour is optional for opponents, but it is almost always given as a mark of respect to the champions.
Maresca confirmed Chelsea's players would line up to applaud their opponents ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash.
"I don't think we need that to understand how good it is to win the Premier League," he told a news conference. "We know that it's something very nice.
"But for sure when you are there, probably in their mind [the players] are thinking: 'I would like one day to be there.'"
Chelsea's topsy-turvy season has left them fifth in the table with five matches remaining.
At one point, Chelsea were considered as having an outside chance of winning the title, but a mid-season dip in form where they suffered damaging losses to teams such as Fulham and Ipswich Town means they are battling with Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest in the race for Champions League qualification.
The west London club, who won 4-1 away at Djurgården in the first leg of their Conference League semifinal on Thursday, have signed a host of talented young players since a consortium led by Todd Boehly purchased the club in May 2022.
Maresca said on Friday that however this season ends for his team, the experience gained by his players will help with their development.
Asked whether Chelsea could learn from the arrival of experienced pair Virgil van Dijk and Alisson at Liverpool in 2018 which instantly transformed the Merseyside club, Maresca said: "If you want to close the gap with this kind of club, for sure [you need experience]."
"Our team next season will be better in terms of experience, because this year has been one more year together.
"For sure the ones that are growing like Levi [Colwill] for instance, growing a lot in terms of leadership, next year will be better and better.
"Hopefully the ones that we have, they can grow and can help us in terms of experience."