Gerrard is my perfect partner says Lampard

Frank Lampard today hailed Champions League opponent Steven Gerrard as his perfect midfield partner.

Lampard faces his England team-mate in tonight's semi-final first leg amid renewed speculation that Gerrard will join him at Stamford Bridge next season.

Chelsea are willing to pay £35million to unite the two friends in a potentially sensational midfield pairing and, though Lampard would not be drawn on the proposed deal, he believes they would work well together.

He said: "Steven's a good friend of mine, a fantastic player and when you talk about midfielders he's right at the top for me. He's a genuine world class player. We're good mates but always have good battles so I'm looking forward to tonight.

"We're kind of similar in the way that we both like to get forward and score goals but can also sit deeper, so when we play for England we mix it up a bit. One goes forward, one stays and we alternate a lot.

"We have slightly different styles, which is one of the reasons we work so well together. We basically play the same, get up and down the pitch and try to be a big player for the teams we're playing for. Steven's done that for Liverpool this year and the last few years. We can play together - but I'm not going to get into next season."

Chelsea have already beaten Liverpool three times this season but Lampard is anticipating a difficult encounter.

He said: "I'm not sure if it's a good thing to be playing Liverpool. We know about them and they know about us. They won't want to be beaten by us again. It's going to be a massive game with a great atmosphere."