Carlo Ancelotti to Play First Team in Important FA Cup Fixture
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 boss Carlo Ancelotti revealed that he would feature his first team against Ipswich Town in the third round of the FA Cup. The best available line up Ancelotti can muster against an Ipswich side, which is currently 20th in
the Championship, would have seemed ridiculous last season or even at the start of this season. However, with the form the Blues are in, it seems the Italian manager is being realistic. Even after the hectic New Year’s period, Ancelotti does not have the option
to rest tired players, some of whom have featured in four matches in a 10-day period.
Rotation and resting his first team is a luxury Ancelotti cannot afford at the moment. The tactical genius will have to use the same players in the same formation, which seems to have lost its magic after capturing the first ever
double in the Blues history. Having already been ruled out of the Premier League title race, a defeat in the FA Cup could very well mean the end of Ancelotti’s job at Stamford Bridge. The Italian revealed earlier that he was not scared of losing his job, but
it is obvious that unless things on the pitch change soon, things in the management will be changing.
With his past clubs, Ancelotti was known to give a lot of importance to cup competitions, which is why retaining the FA Cup is so important to the former AC Milan manager. The fact that he was the first manager to lead the side
to its first double has also put some expectations on him to lead the side to its first treble. It may seem like an unlikely possibility at this point in the season; however, the Blues were a completely different side at the start of the season. The Italian
is determined to lead the side back to winning ways and he wants to start with the upcoming fixture against Ipswich.
Ancelotti stressed the importance of the FA Cup and the upcoming fixture while speaking to reporters. He said, “We will play our strongest team. For two reasons: we want to use every game to move on from this bad moment. And secondly
the FA Cup is very important to us. We won it last year and the year before and maybe it’s good for us to play in the FA Cup because we don’t have a gap to close. It could be the motivation to think we can win again, it could be fantastic motivation to open
up the fight for the Premier League.”
Ancelotti has not yet given up on the English Premier League, he is confident the Blues can yet defend the title. It is all about belief and the Blues do not seem to have any. They are currently at 5th place on the Premier
League table, nine points behind Manchester United who have a game in hand. However, overcoming Tottenham Hotspur in the upcoming fixtures in the league and returning to 4th or even 3rd place is not an impossible task and that is what
Ancelotti will be focusing on. The Blues host Ipswich on Sunday, 9th January, in the third round of the FA Cup, which could make or break what is left of their season.
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