Liverpool 2, Wigan Athletic 0:  In Vancouver this evening an ice hockey team owned by Tom Hicks will confront a side almost purchased by Roman Abramovich some four years ago. Hicks's Dallas Stars have done well even to force a deciding seventh game against the Canucks in their Western Conference play-off series.

It is a tale of what might have been for the American and the Russian - but the collision between the pair's football franchises is both real and imminent.

For Liverpool, thoughts have long been on Chelsea this Wednesday and those thoughts may now have turned to concern within Rafael Benitez's camp. Victory over Wigan was a breeze on Saturday but, with the Premiership title long since out of reach, they have effectively not played a fiercely competitive fixture since April 3rd in Eindhoven and, in the past week, have given the impression of being only vaguely distracted by Manchester City, Middlesbrough and the Latics. Seven points and a top-four finish may have been earned en route but progress has been at a stroll.

Benitez described this win as "almost perfect preparation", with no injuries to report. His captain, Steven Gerrard, was rested for 70 minutes and Dirk Kuyt returned to scoring form. Yet Chelsea have maintained their competitive bite in recent weeks, slicing repeatedly into Manchester United's lead. The worry is that, untested and increasingly relaxed, Liverpool's edge may have been dulled.

They will need to rediscover their zest on Wednesday if they are to progress at the Premiership champions' expense. The semi-final legs will be the 14th and 15th occasions that the sides have met in the past three years.

"There are not a lot of secrets between the two of us so, in circumstances like that, one set-piece or bit of brilliance could decide things," said Benitez. "But this tie will be won by the players, not the managers. We're in a far better situation than two years ago when we met them because we've qualified for the Champions League again, so we can be even more focused."

Back in 2005 Liverpool were still pursuing - forlornly, as it proved - a top-four finish when they propelled Chelsea from Europe. This year qualification has already been assured after this win but, if Benitez's players were keen to impress and earn a place at Stamford Bridge, only a few could depart truly satisfied.

Principal among them was Kuyt, the first Liverpool striker to notch more than 10 league goals in a season since Benitez arrived on Merseyside in 2004. He was all bustling energy here, converting the impressive Jermaine Pennant's cross on the half-hour and then spinning on to Matt Jackson's touch to slam in a fine second with Wigan dithering. Benitez will be encouraged by the Dutchman's first campaign in England. Didier Drogba managed only 10 and 12 league goals in his first two seasons at Chelsea before this term's avalanche. Kuyt, with 12 this season, may yet follow the Ivorian's lead.

"Dirk was a key player for us today but I think by the end of the season he will have proved himself to have been a key player for us all year," said Benitez. "If he's not scoring goals himself he just works harder. Now he's scoring good goals.

"He might have ended up with three or four and that has to be positive for the team."

There were few positives for Wigan, other perhaps than escaping a hammering which would have had a grim effect on their goal difference. Paul Jewell admitted he had come here intent merely on holding on for a point, with that game plan wrecked by the defensive indecision that gripped John Filan and Jackson to allow Kuyt to flick in the opener. They mustered one plausible chance but Jose Reina saved wonderfully from Caleb Folan.

They hover only two points from the cut-off, with West Ham due at the JJB Stadium on Saturday. "Paul Jewell told us ages ago that there are 50 million reasons for staying in the Premiership," said the captain, Arjan de Zeeuw, who experienced relegation with Barnsley in 1998 and survived in the top flight against the odds with Portsmouth three years ago. "Financially these three are probably the biggest games this club has ever had. Thank God we are playing teams around us. We're playing the others who are down there and I'm convinced we have enough to get the points we need."