Ancelotti plans Torres gamble

Torres: Yet to open his goal account for the Blues

Carlo Ancelotti has hinted that he will again plump for Fernando Torres over Didier Drogba this weekend.

The Chelsea boss is currently preparing his troops for a home date with capital rivals West Ham on Saturday.

That clash has taken on added importance for the Blues following a midweek round of results which played nicely into their hands.

All of a sudden Chelsea find themselves back in the title shake-up, with just six points separating them from league leaders Manchester United.

“Everyone has to know that Fernando is the present and the future of this club. “
Carlo Ancelotti Quotes of the week

Ancelotti could be forgiven for turning his back on £50million man Torres as the season edges towards an intriguing climax, with the Spaniard yet to break his scoring duck for the club.

Rotation

The Italian coach is, however, prepared to give him another opportunity to get off the mark against the Hammers, meaning Drogba, who started Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Birmingham, will be returned to the bench.

“Maybe I can use some rotation to maintain the players’ freshness,” Ancelotti said.

“It wouldn’t be easy to leave Drogba out, but there’s a chance we could leave him out on Saturday.

“We started with Torres against (Manchester) City. We won the game when Didier came on.

“It might be a good solution to give him the last 30 minutes of the game because he’s fresh and fit.”

Medicine

Ancelotti has also reiterated his belief that one goal is all that is required to see Torres recapture the form which made him one of the most feared strikers in Europe during his days at Liverpool.

“To score one goal, for him, could be the best medicine,” he said.

“If the players, the team-mates, help him, I’m happy.

“That means there’s a good relationship with each other in the squad.”

He added: “Everyone has to know that Fernando is the present and the future of this club. We cannot judge now the moment. He will play a lot of games for Chelsea.”