Ancelotti needs a moral boosting win to ease pressure
Didier Drogba returns to his former club, where he spent a remarkable season in guiding Marseille to the then UEFA cup final and in the process impressing Jose Mourinho. Mourinho then spent ₤ 24 millions on the Ivory Coast hit
man in his first season at Chelsea. Drogba has been quoted several times wanting a move back to his former club but looks settled at Chelsea since Carlo Ancelotti took the reins.
But it’s a different story for Ancelotti, whose side was imperious at the tsart of the campaign but has since lost strength. Chelsea let several players leave in close season without any suitable replacements apart from Brazilian
Ramires, a ₤18 million signing from Benfica.
The Blues boss is under intense pressure to turn things around having not won in five games, the worst run in the Abramovich era. He was expected to leave his stars behind for the club's final Group F game at
Marseille, as they have already topped their group. This is a dead rubber for the English Champions who have one eye on a weekend clash against Tottenham to kick-start their flagging season which promised so much but could turn out to be the worst.
Ancelotti was tempted to rest key players ahead of Sunday’s derby game against the Spurs but know looks uncertain to play his best players as he looks for a moral boosting win ahead of the weekend’s fixture.
The Italian said: "It is important to have a good performance to improve our confidence. We need to put the best possible line-up on the pitch in Marseille".
"The result is not so important but we have to find our way again and get back to playing football like we can".
Ancelotti is looking forward to the next three Premier League fixtures, "This is a key game for us - although the real key games are the Premier League games we have to come against Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal.
Ancelotti has more injury concerns as Anelka and Cole haven’t traveled with the squad to the scenic Southern French city. He revealed, “Only two players have stayed at home who are injured. Nicolas Anelka has a knee problem and
Ashley Cole is recovering from an ankle injury".
With the qualification for the next round of the Champions League already secured, the focus will shift to the Premier League. The next three games starting against Tottenham may well decide the fate of the Premier League crown
and the Chelsea Manager, whose role has been undermined since the sacking of Ray Wilkins. Chelsea can’t afford to lose anymore points especially against their immediate rivals.
All things apart, Chelsea could end up making history tonight if they beat Marseille, becoming the first British club to win all six of their group matches.
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