Carlo Ancelotti is considering gambling with an unproven strike partnership of Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres in Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final, first leg against Manchester United tomorrow.
Torres suffered an ankle injury in the 1-1 draw away to Stoke City in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday, but came through training yesterday and is in contention to return to the starting line-up at Stamford Bridge.
Drogba confirmed his return to form by scoring his first goal for 11 club matches against Stoke after finding the net twice for Ivory Coast last week. But he has yet to strike an effective partnership with Torres, who has not scored in nine appearances since making a British-record £50 million move from Liverpool.
Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, has adopted a policy of rotating his four strikers since Torres’s arrival — he surprised many by partnering the Spaniard with Salomon Kalou against Manchester City a fortnight ago — but is preparing to start with his biggest names against United.
Torres came off the bench against Stoke to replace Nicolas Anelka for the final 30 minutes alongside Drogba in what looked like a dress rehearsal for the Champions League tie. Anelka is Chelsea’s top scorer in the competition this season with seven goals, whereas the other two have managed a single goal between them, so leaving him out would represent a gamble.
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Drogba and Torres have started only two matches together — a home defeat by Liverpool and a victory away to Blackpool — and appear to have won their manager’s trust for the biggest game of the season so far.
Ancelotti can take some encouragement from their most productive performance together having come against United. Drogba came off the bench to inspire a comeback against the Premier League leaders in a 2-1 win five weeks ago.
The Chelsea manager has few other dilemmas and is planning to stick with the 4-4-2 formation that secured victory over United last month. Branislav Ivanovic will return at centre back in place of David Luiz, who is ineligible because he played in the competition for Benfica this season.
Ancelotti is confident that Chelsea can overcome their domestic difficulties to avenge their Champions League final defeat by United three years ago. The Italian will not be satisfied by eliminating Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, however, and accepts that only lifting the trophy for the first time would salvage Chelsea’s season.
“It is a little bit like Milan when they played Liverpool in the final of the Champions League two years after losing to them, which for us was destiny,” Ancelotti said. “Beating United is very important, but it will not define our season 100 per cent because we want to win a trophy. It is not enough just to beat United.”