Carlo Ancelotti has named his starting XI for Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round showdown with Cardiff at Stamford Bridge.
Blues boss reveals side for Cardiff clash
Carlo Ancelotti has named his starting XI for Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round showdown with Cardiff at Stamford Bridge.
Defensive duo John Terry and Ashley Cole will miss out through personal reasons and injury, respectively, while goalkeeper Petr Cech and striker Nicolas Anelka also have the weekend off.
The Italian insists he is taking the competition seriously as he looks to defend the trophy secured under predecessor Guus Hiddink at the end of last season and has selected a first XI brimming with international quality despite the notable absentees.
"Tomorrow we'll play Hilario in goal, Paulo Ferreira, Alex, Ricardo Carvalho and Yuri Zhirkov; Frank Lampard, John Obi Mikel, Michael Ballack; Daniel Sturridge, Joe Cole and Didier Drogba up front," Ancelotti confirmed.
Important
"The bench will be Ross Turnbull, Jeffrey Bruma, Branislav Ivanovic, Florent Malouda, Nemanja Matic, Fabio Borini and Salomon Kalou.
"It's a very important competition. We won it last year - I was not here - and we have a great opportunity to go forward in this competition.
"We know Cardiff will come to do their best. They have a good team and a lot of passion around them. We have to pay attention. We want to come back to win after the defeat against Everton.
"I said that the FA Cup is a fantastic opportunity for all the teams to play their best.
"They are followed with a lot of passion around them, and they have good quality, They have two fantastic strikers and score a lot of goals in the Championship. We have to pay attention."
